How dare you march into my heart (Henelope)
by ThatFlemis22
Summary: How Hope deals with falling in love with no other than Penelope Park. Would she let herself be happy? Well... Penelope doesn't really care. ***Written together with "Avengerskye" Inspired by Alessia Cara's song 'I'm Yours'
1. To Die For

Hope can feel the cold air as she runs around the woods in her wolf form. She feels free as her paws claw on the forest ground, and the air makes her fur move in a pleasant way. The woods around the Salvatore school are like a home to her, just like her family house of New Orleans, but without the pain that still lingers there, or the Salvatore school itself.

She couldn't tell how many hours she's been running for, but after the day she just had, she needed it. With the anniversary of her parents deaths coming in a couple of days, Hope's emotions are a mess. However, her peaceful run quickly takes a turn for the worst when her ears picks up the loud sound of teenagers partying.

For a second, the white werewolf thinks about running the opposite way, but then she stops herself. Instead, she walks straight to the source of the noise. Hope knows the way to the old mill by heart, so it doesn't take her long to find the party. She walks closer, careful to stay hidden to the drunk teenagers. Even in her wolf state, she recognizes some faces. Lizzie, MG, Josie, Jade... Seeing them all having fun, without a care in the world… It makes Hope feel weird. Like she doesn't belong, like she never did.

The emotions are quick to overwhelm her, and suddenly Hope doesn't trust herself. So, she runs in the opposite direction, straight to the place she left her clothes earlier. She didn't want to hurt any of them.

* * *

Penelope walks into the old mill an hour or so after the party started, fashionably late as she likes to say. Lots of people wave at her as she walks by them. Almost everyone already looks totally wasted or high, or even both. The raven-haired girl stops for a minute to talk to some witches before making her way to get a drink.

After a quick talk, Penelope leaves them and walks over to the coolers. She's taking her time to choose what she's gonna get, but just as she leans to get a bottle of beer, she feels her ass being slapped.

There's a whistle. "Nice ass Park, I can see why you never leave a party alone now."

Penelope feels her blood boil in her veins. Instead of taking the bottle she first reached for, the raven haired girl reaches for a can of a sweet drink. Penelope straightens herself, and turns around to look at the girl who has an arrogant smug smile on her face. It's only then that she recognizes the vampire girl. She starts shaking the can behind her back.

"Chloe." She says simply, her voice is calm but her gaze on the girl's eyes is intense, cold. "Let me tell you something; If I wanted you to touch me, in any way, trust me, you would've already."

She brings the can from behind her back, and to her front before quickly opening it and letting it splash all over the vampire girl. "Touch me without my permission again and you'll see why people call me Satan." She threatens the girl with a devious smirk on her face.

A slight panic crosses the girl's features before she vamp-speeds out of there. Penelope smirks as she's finally left alone. She turns around and quickly grabs the beer she was going for earlier. As soon as it's in her hands, she opens it and goes to take a large sip, but then a movement in the woods catches her eyes.

She wonders if her eyes are betraying her for a second, but then she sees the wolf turn around and run in the opposite direction of the old mill. A white wolf… It could only be one person. And that realization makes Penelope smirk again, but this time for a whole different reason.

She quickly discards the beer, and goes to follow the wolf. She almost curses when she realizes she has no idea where Hope went, but she continues walking. After a moment, Penelope can hear movement on her left side, so she goes straight in that direction. The view that greets her makes her eyes widen a little. Hope is putting her shirt on, and Penelope catches sight of a side-boob real quick. She walks out of her _hiding _spot, and quickly makes her presence known.

"Damn Mikaelson! You're even hotter than I thought." Penelope says with a flirty voice, and she almost feels bad when she sees Hope jump in surprise and almost drops her shirt.

Hope finishes to put her shirt on before turning around to glare at the intruder.

"What the hell Penelope?!"

"What?" Penelope shrugs. "You're hot, everyone knows that. They just don't know _how _hot you actually are." She says with a sexy wink.

Hope quickly recognizes the teasing, the flirting, and it makes her roll her eyes. The auburn haired girl feel annoyance invade her, and she quickly starts to walk towards the school, bumping Penelope's shoulder on her way.

"Go back to your stupid party Park."

"Why don't you come back with me?" Penelope says as she quickly walks after Hope. "Let loose, have some fun for a change. We could have fun together." Penelope suggestively raises her eyebrows.

"Don't hold your breath." Hope says, pushing a branch out of her way only to release it just after she passed it.

Penelope receives the branch right in the face, and she's pretty sure Hope did it on purpose.

"That's just rude, you know?"

Hope turns her head to glare at Penelope. "Yeah? What do you call spying on people then?"

Penelope rolls her eyes as she finally manages to reach Hope's side. "I would hardly call that spying. I just happened to walk by."

"Right, of course." Hope says with a fake smiles that tells Penelope the Mikaelson girl doesn't quite believe her. "You can stop following me now by the way, the party's the other way."

Penelope almost trip on a rock, but she quickly recovers and in a second she's back at Hope's side.

"Come on!" The raven haired girl pokes Hope's arm, not even flinching when Hope's response is a glare. But then the girl is moving again.

Penelope huffs in frustration and quickly moves in front of Hope. "Five minutes." She tries.

"Penelope…" Hope starts to warn her but she ignores.

"Come on, just five minutes ok? And maybe one drink... If you don't like it, you can just go." She insists.

If she's honest with herself, Penelope has no idea why she insists on Hope joining her. She knows it's probably to no avail. But, there's a part of her that longs to see Hope happy or just free, without the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Penelope knows she's mostly a bitch to Hope, but the Mikaelson girl is just so frustrating, but she can't help it. Under all that bitchiness, she can't help but have a soft spot for the tribrid. Not that she'd let anyone know that though, she has her pride. But she can't deny she cares about her, more than she's willing to admit. Even to herself.

Hope stops walking and throws her hands in the air in annoyance.

"Oh my god! Why are you being so annoying right now?"

For a second, Penelope feels hurt, but she quickly covers it up with a smirk.

"You know what? Forget I said anything. For a second I've forgotten that you hate people and love being alone. Lone wolf and all that, right?"

Penelope rolls her eyes at her, totally feeling like getting wasted now. Hope Mikaelson really had a way to make her feel like shit. But as soon as she takes her first step to leave, Hope's voice stops her.

"You're wrong about that." Hope's voice is small, and maybe even vulnerable, that definitely catches Penelope off guard, she slowly turns around to face the other girl.

"How so?" She asks with a hint of annoyance still in her voice, though it somehow sounds softer than before.

Hope's eyes meets hers for a second, and just for a second Penelope can see her walls starting to crumble.

"I don't wanna be alone." Hope says quietly, her voice sounding just as small as it did before, while she moves past Penelope. "But it's definitely easier to be." She adds, more to herself than to the other girl and slowly makes her way back to the school, leaving a surprised Penelope Park behind.

Penelope stands there, almost like frozen in place, her eyes glued to Hope's retreating form. Hope's words, demeanor and vulnerability are like a cold shower for Penelope. It makes her realize just how lonely Hope Mikaelson is, and this realization makes her heart twist painfully inside her chest.

That's when she suddenly remembers something she read in her book of secrets a long time ago. Something none other than the tribrid herself wrote at this same time of year. It's been two years since Hope lost her parents. That sure explains why she's been running so much lately, and why she just looks so sad all the time.

Hope's last words keep playing in her head over and over, but only now she understands the true meaning behind them. _It is easier to be alone, because that way no one can leave you. _This sad realization is what she needed to finally accept that yes, she cares about Hope.

It makes sense for Hope to feel that way, but it doesn't mean Penelope is willing to accept that.

"Guess I'll have to prove you wrong then." Penelope says to herself as she watches Hope disappear from her sight.


	2. The Unforgiven

Hope spent the whole night tossing and turning in bed. Now the sun is up again and she barely slept at all. Still, she pushes the covers off of her body and gets out of bed.

She's halfway through getting dressed when she realises she doesn't actually feel like going to class. Her chat with Penelope kept replaying in her mind again and again.

Add to it her grief over her parents' death and it makes her an emotional mess.

Instead of putting on the beautiful shirt she was planning on wearing today, Hope reaches for the paint stained one she keeps for painting. It doesn't take her long to get to work, but with each minute, the frustration and sadness seem to grow.

After one too many canvas wasted, Hope throws her brush on the other side of the room. She takes a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control as tears threatens to fall from her eyes.

Maybe binge watching episodes of Cutthroat Kitchen is a better idea for today.

She takes her laptop from her desk and walks to her bed. Hope slips under her covers and quickly look through her laptop to find new episodes of her favorite cooking show.

But just as she's clicking on an episode, there's an urgent knock on her door. Hope sighs, puts the laptop aside and walks to the door. The Mikaelson girl opens it, preparing her best glare, but then she sees the terrified student on the other side of her door.

"Hope! There's a guy attacking the school. He took MG as a hostage and he requests to see you!"

"What? Wait, who is attacking the school?" Hope asks with a frown.

"We don't know, he just said he wants to see you and that he wouldn't hurt MG if you came willingly." The students says, fear laced in his voice. "Please Hope, it's urgent."

Hope follows the girl through the halls, her paint stained shirt still on and pain still clouding her head and heart. The students are all gathered around the windows, looking outside with fear.

"Stay inside." Hope says to the girl before walking out of the school.

It doesn't take long for the Mikaelson girl to spot the man holding MG hostage in the middle of the driveway. It's pretty clear the man is a vampire, and Hope is sure the people waiting behind him are too. She takes a quick look at them, before focusing herself on the man and MG.

"You asked to see me, now let MG go." Hope growls.

The vampire smiles, and then he lets go of MG, arrogant smile still in place. MG stumbles to the side before getting behind Hope at vampire speed.

"Go back inside MG." Hope says without looking back at him.

"Bu-"

"Do as I said!"

When she's sure MG is back inside the school, Hope places all her attention on the man. She tries hard to think if she've seen him before, but nothing comes up.

"The daughter of the most evil men roaming the earth."

That feels like a stake in the heart to Hope, but she does her best to stay in control.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Hope asks, her eyes never leaving the vampire.

"My name is Salazar, and I am here to kill you and destroy this school." He says with an evil smile.

Hope rolls her eyes, not really caring about the "killing you" part because that is literally impossible, but she does worry a bit about the "destroying the school" part.

"What did I do to you?" She asks.

"You… Nothing." The man concedes, but then his eyes darken. "Your father on the other hand… He killed my son. The only family I had. Forced me to watch, and then turned me into this monster to make sure I'd suffer forever."

Hope sighs and closes her eye for a second.

"I'm sorry for your loss, really, but it doesn't have anything to do with me."

She turns around to leave, but he roughly catches her forearm and forces her to turn around.

"Not so fast." His eyes have a crazy glint to them now that Hope is closer. "It has everything to do with you. When I heard about you, I couldn't believe the day of my revenge had finally come. A child for a child." Salazar chuckles. "I could send him your heart as a souvenir."

That's when it strikes Hope, Salazar thinks Klaus is still alive. She hesitates to tell the man about her father's death. She wonders what kind of impact it would have.

"I'll even destroy this place he loves so much. Do you think he'd like to have pictures? Like a 'before vs after' kind of thing?" Salazar keeps talking and he finishes with a crazy laugh.

"Look, I'm really sorry about the horrors my father put you through, but I highly suggest you let me go before I get really angry."

"You see… Your_ father." _The disgust in his voice while he said _father _wasn't lost on Hope. "He killed my family pretty much over nothing. And that was like… 700 years ago. My friends back here are about that same age, so I think we have more than enough power to deal with you getting angry."

"That's an awfully long time to hold a grudge, don't you think?" Hope says, though she can't help but sympathize with him a little bit. She also couldn't help but being a little intimidated by the fact they could be an actual threat.

"Easy enough for you to say little girl. You haven't lost the ones who meant the world to you. I did. Your dad killed my son as a punishment only because I accidentally destroyed one of his paintings."

That sends a pang of pain through Hope's body. Her father wasn't the most merciful man that lived, but that was too cruel even for him.

_You have no idea of what I lost. _She sadly thinks to herself.

"Your father is nothing but a monster, and I'm gonna show him what pain feels like. He's gonna have a taste of his own medicine." Salazar says, his smile even more crazy than before.

His words are like a knife going straight through her heart. And he notices as much.

"The rest of your monstrous family is no better. They burned my whole village to the ground just because they could." He walks around her, his eyes holding nothing but disgust.

"And you... The abomination... Nothing but a mistake... A monster, like every member of your family. I don't know how your mom had the guts to actually carry that freak's baby. She must be another monster to actually give birth to someone who will most likely be even worse than him"

Now Hope can't take it anymore. Her temper gets the best of her and she shoves the vampire away from her.

"Don't you dare say anything more about my family! My parents both gave their life for me. You don't get to talk about them like that. I won't hesitate to-"

Salazar interrupts her with a loud laugh. "Klaus Mikaelson is dead? Leaving an even bigger abomination as his legacy? Sounds like him." He walks closer to Hope again. "I hope he'll be watching this from hell then. Don't worry sweetie, you'll see both of the beasts that served as your parents again soon enough."

The first blow catches Hope by surprise and so Salazar's fist collides with her jaw in full force. She stumbles back, but quickly recovers. In no time, Hope is in fighting stance. When the vampire tries to hit her again, the tribrid easily catches his fist in her hand.

"A whore mother and a crazy father, what does that even make you?" He says.

His words have more effect on her than his fists, and suddenly she's loosening her hold. He gets his fist back and sends her to the ground. This time Hope feels the fall in all her body.

"Shut up." She ruffles, her voice shaking. But he pays her no attention.

"Sending you to this school… hoping you'd blend in, as if you belong. Was your father that stupid?" Salazar spits out before kicking Hope in the ribs. "I would have loved to torture you before his eyes. Make that monster watch would have been so satisfying. But I guess I'll have to settle for this."

He goes for a final blow to her heart, but Hope is fast enough to dodge it. She quickly spins on the ground and grabs his ankles, pulling on them to make him fall. Quickly, Hope gets back to her feet, soon followed by Salazar. At vampire speed, the man sends her flying in the air again. Hope quickly gets on one knee, trying to get up, but her head is facing down with her hair hiding her face.

"You know how to fight, but that won't be enough to save you. I'm going to kill you. Since I didn't have the pleasure of killing him myself, at least I'll have the satisfaction of making sure your whore of a mother and crazy father died for nothing."

Everyone inside the school is watching the scene unfold before them, jaws dropped and eyes wide but too scared to intervene, including a certain raven-haired girl who was just too shocked to do anything. Not from fear, but because of the gut wrenching pain she could feel emanating from Hope. How bad she must be hurting from hearing such horrible things, and the timing also couldn't be worse. So she stood there watching everything from a far, shocked, with her heart actually breaking for the other girl.

MG on the other hand could no longer bare to see his friend like that, he knew how much those words were hurting her. Leaving an angry looking Alyssa behind, he starts to make his way to Hope, but before he can reach her, he feels the ground and everything else around him shake violently and falls to his knees.

Hope slowly feels the control over her magic slip through her fingers. His words, the disgust in his voice as he speaks of her family. It's all too much for her heightened emotions. Suddenly, the little control she had left on her magic escapes her without her being able to do anything about it.

"SHUT UP!" Hope roars as she lifts her head, revealing her face with her tribrid features showing up in its full glory.

Her eyes change, where it should be white turns pitch black, her pupils glow in a intense red with hints of orange, angry veins starts pulsing violently under her eyes. Her power so insanely strong that it could actually be seen as a dark purple glow corsing inside the veins covering good part of her face.

The surprise and panic on everyone's faces has barely the time to register in Hope's brain before a huge shock-wave of pure energy blasts out of her, destroying everything in its path, killing Salazar and a few of his vamps in the process, the ones who survived ran away as fast as they could, terrified.

Just before it happens though, Hope hears MG calling her name, but it's too late. The force of the magic almost knocks Hope out too, and when she recovers from it, a scene straight out of her worst nightmare waits for her.

Luckily MG wasn't close enough to Hope to be hit by the full force of her power, but he was sent flying straight into a tree, impaling him. The branch that went through the boy is so close to his heart, that Hope thinks he might be dead.

Desperation fills her as she runs to him, tears already threatening to fall from her eyes as she makes her way through the students that gathered around the tree. Relief washes over her when she realizes her friend isn't dead.

"No one touches him!" Alaric yells. "We could kill him if the wood moves in the wound."

"MG... I-I'm so so so sorry, I didn't mea-"

Alyssa interrupts her. "Get away from him! This is all your fault! All you do is bring death to people that surround you. Those people wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you!"

Hope is shocked to hear the hate in the witch's voice.

"Alyssa I-"

"You almost got MG killed you freak! You got your parents killed, wasn't that enough? No wonder why you're always alone, death follows you like a shadow. You're a cosmic mistake and you'd be better off dead."

The effects of Alyssa's words on Hope are somehow worse than Salazar's and it's all it takes to makes her tears fall. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Salazar knew nothing about her, but Alyssa knew her her whole life.

"Alyssa! Enough! Detention for a month!" Alaric snaps.

"I'm the one getting detention?! She's the one at fault here." Alyssa yells.

"She saved us." MG says in a weak voice.

"Rafael, go get a saw to cut the tree." Alaric demands.

All the words and emotions are too much for Hope to handle. With a final rushed apology to MG, the Mikaelson girl vamp-speeds away from the scene.

* * *

Amongst the students gathered around the tree, there's Penelope watching silently as the painful scene unfolds. She was dying to interrupt, but for the first time in her life the words got stuck in her throat. She heard and felt every word that was said about Hope and her family just moments ago.

It makes her think of her own family. Her very messed up family. Penelope thinks about her negligent parents, and their high expectations of her. She always felt so angry about that. The witch always envied people over their perfect families, but now she realizes that even though her family's not perfect, they're still alive.

She stays outside until MG's safe and sound, and then, without looking back, she walks inside the school and straight to her room. She closes the door behind herself, allowing herself time to lean on it and breathe for a couple of seconds. She was still processing everything that happened just a few minutes ago.

When she feels like she's in control again, Penelope reaches for her phone and quickly goes through her list of contacts. She clicks on her parents' number and put the phone to her ear, nervously waiting for them to pick up. After the third ring, Penelope's heart sink. Her parents are not picking up. Just as she's about to end the call and throw her phone away, the line gets picked up.

"Penelope?" Comes her mother's voice.

"Mother." Penelope manages to say with a choked voice.

"Why are you calling? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Penelope's mother sighs loudly. "Did you do something stupid again? Look, I don't have much time. Your father and I are shopping for baby clothes."

Her mother's words put Penelope in some kind of shock. "Baby clothes? What for?"

"We're having a second child. It's gonna be a boy this time."

Penelope hasn't heard such excitement in her mother's voice during her entire life. It was no secret that the Park's had always wanted a boy. What was the really shocking thing is that her mother never wanted a second child before, add that to the fact they didn't tell their daughter about it until now.

"I'm not gonna waste any more of your time then. Have a good day mother."

The line goes dead, her mother hung up without as much as a goodbye. Penelope chuckles darkly as she lowers her phone. The black haired girl prides herself over the control of her emotions, but now she silently lets the tears fall.

Having a family could suck as much as not having one.


	3. Cold Little Heart

Penelope pushes the door of the roof with force. It goes crashing against the wall, but she doesn't care. This is her place and no one comes here anyway. She's holding a bottle of booze tightly as she walks outside.

It took her hours to actually gather the courage to come out of her room, but now she feels like getting wasted in her favorite place. She takes the first swing from her bottle when suddenly her eyes catch sight of someone. Someone dares invade her safe space?!

Penelope quickly puts the cap back on the bottle and does a speed walk to the intruder. Her steps falter when she recognizes who it is though.

Hope Mikaelson.

Crying alone on the roof.

Penelope stops, but it's too late, Hope's heightened senses already caught her. Actually, the tribrid should have noticed her before, but maybe her state kept her from doing so.

The way Hope is sitting at the edge of the roof, legs dangling in the air, makes Penelope uncomfortable. Logically, she knows the auburn haired girl couldn't die, but still.

Hope's eyes doesn't meet Penelope's, but she looks in her direction. "I wasn't expecting anyone to come here."

Penelope swallows with difficulty, trying to say something back. "Yeah… I wasn't expecting anyone to be here either actually. This is kind of my place." After a little of bit of hesitation she adds something else. "I usually come here when I need to be alone."

"Oh…" Hope quickly wipes her tears away and lifts her legs bringing them back onto the roof before standing up. "I'll leave you to it then."

"Wait, no." Penelope rushes out. "We can share, you don't have to leave."

Hope's eyes are on Penelope and only Penelope now. It looks as though she's looking for something, and it takes the raven haired girl a lot of strength to actually stay quiet.

"I guess we can do that if you're willing to share that bottle with me." Hope says and there's a hint of a smile on her lips.

Instead of replying, Penelope walks closer to Hope and hands her the bottle of booze. The auburn haired girl takes the bottle and takes a sip before grimacing.

"What is this? It's disgusting!"

Penelope smirks. "Rum." She walks near the edge of the roof. "Maybe we could sit back down."

"Not there. You don't have super healing and I don't wanna deal with your death today."

The black haired girl rolls her eyes. "Fine, let's sit near the chimney then."

Penelope leads the way, followed closely by the Mikaelson girl. They sit down, avoiding to look at each other. It's slowly becoming awkward, but then Hope takes a swing from the bottle and hands it back to Penelope. So the ravenette takes the bottle and takes a large sip too.

Penelope chuckles as she looks down at the bottle. "What a day, right?

She doesn't get the reaction she expected. Hope sends her a hard glare, and seems to put her walls even higher than before.

"That's not funny. MG almost died!"

"I-I know. Sorry, I'm just trying to cope too, you know?" Hope clenches her jaw and looks away. When Hope nods, Penelope sighs in relief. "I-I wish I could have done something earlier but-"

"Don't." Hope says.

She brings her knees to her chest and holds them with her arms. Hope looks so small and vulnerable in that moment that Penelope has a hard time believing this is the same girl she's used to see being a total badass.

"I didn't ask for any of this to happen, you know?" Hope quietly says. "I-I just... " She shakes her head. "Forget it."

"You can talk, it's fine." Penelope tries to comfort her.

Hope hesitates, and her next words catch Penelope off guard. "What about you? What sorrow are you trying to drown?"

Penelope chuckles nervously, and takes another sip from the bottle. "Family drama, nothing important."

"It was important enough for you to come here to get wasted."

"Fine." She sighs. "My parents don't care much about me, they never did. That's why I'm here, shipping me off to boarding school was an awesome way to get rid of me." She chuckles. "My father wanted a boy, so did my mother. They're getting a new baby now, my mom's already pregnant and I just heard about it. So, yeah, family drama."

The pity in Hope's eyes make Penelope feel uncomfortable, so she quickly changes the subject.

"Anyway, they're not the main reason why I'm here though... you are, actually..." Hope's eyes widen a little, and up goes the defenses again. "I heard everything that man said to you. I'm so sorry you had to hear that."

Hope doesn't fully believe her, it's clear to see. Penelope waits for their eyes to meet to keep talking, she wants Hope to know she means every word.

"I love the reputation I managed to build here, I feel a lot less vulnerable when people think I'm a heartless bitch. The thing is, I'm not as heartless as I make it seem. I care. It's just easier not to." Penelope hands the bottle to Hope, but the girl shakes her head. Penelope puts it back on the ground. "Again, I'm really sorry for not doing anything. I wish that I had."

Hope clenches her jaw. "Why?"

"Because… Somehow I could kind of feel how much those words were hurting you… I was just so stunned by it, that it felt like I was frozen in place."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… It felt like your pain was emanating off of you and somehow affecting me…Like I-I could actually feel it... I can't quite explain."

"Oh…" Hope forces herself to smile a little, not fully understanding what the girl meant. "It's fine. You couldn't have done anything to help anyway." Hope's little smile falters. "You saw what happened to MG when he tried."

"_That _wasn't your fault!"

"I lost it Penelope... I freaked out and almost kill-"

"No! I'm not letting you do this. Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened. _It wasn't your fault, Hope. _" Penelope interrupts, voice serious and her eyes looking straight into Hope's.

Hope holds Penelope's eyes, and for once she feels a little better by sharing her thoughts with someone. This time, when Hope smiles it's way more genuine than it was earlier.

Penelope then looks Hope in the eyes

"Seriously… I know how hard it was for you to hear all of that." Penelope says with a soft voice, surprising even herself. "But please, don't let yourself believe what that man said. Or what that bitch Alyssa said."

Hope opens her mouth to speak but Penelope lifts a hand to stop her. "And don't even try to deny that. I know you were hurt."

Hope realizes she's not gonna win this, so instead she says "Well, since you already know everything about what happened today… Why don't you tell me more about that family drama then?"

Penelope sighs but think it's fair, and if it helps take Hope's mind out of today's events, even for a moment, then so be it.

"My family never really cared about me, they only care about their reputation. For years, I tried to fit in but my efforts never seemed to be enough for them. So when trying to control every aspect of my life didn't work, they sent me here so that I couldn't "ruin" their imagine anymore. I didn't want to come at first, I had friends back there, but of course they didn't care about that. Why would they? They never cared about anything I wanted before…"

Penelope pauses and takes a deep breath before she keeps talking.

"But I didn't think they would actually forget me to the point of not even bothering to tell me they were having another child…" It had been months since Penelope last heard anything from her parents. They never bothered to call her, so she had to just let it go.

"After everything that man said to you, I started to think about my parents, so I called them. My mom barely spoke to me, she just assumed that I had messed up again and told me they were busy with the baby stuff. She didn't even had the decency of telling me she was pregnant, she just threw the information at my face like it wasn't important at all."

Hope has no idea of what she should answer to that. So she doesn't, instead she reaches for Penelope's hand and gives it a comfort squeeze.

"Well, it seems we were both hurt today... I think we deserve a little break."

Penelope reaches for the bottle of booze that laid forgotten on the floor of the rooftop.

"Cheers to that!" She says with a smirk before taking a huge gulp of the alcohol in the bottle.

This time, Penelope winces a little as she swallows. But the fuzzy feeling that comes with alcohol always makes her feel better, so she deals with it. She forces a smile and hands the bottle to Hope, and this time the girl takes it. Her sip is much smaller, but it gets the same reaction as the first she took.

Penelope's eyes flicker away from Hope and she looks in the distance, Hope's eyes following hers.

"The sun is setting." Penelope says softly after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Yeah."

Penelope smirks. "Do you think people will believe me if I say I watched a sunset with Hope Mikaelson?"

Hope's laugh surprises Penelope, in the best way.

"No, I don't think they would."

Hope's smile doesn't fade away, instead it feels nice to smile and laugh so freely with someone. Somehow, it doesn't feel like she has to hide her happiness when she's with the brunette witch.

There's another thing that feels really nice too, Penelope's hand still in hers.

It feels like her eyes are glued to their joined hands, and soon Penelope's eyes follow Hope's. The tribrid feels caught, but when she looks up, her eyes catches Penelope's and it makes her feel just as nice as earlier. The ravenette is smiling, and Hope wonders if they're thinking the same thing.

Before she has time to dwell on that, and ask herself just _why _it feels nice to hold Penelope's hand, the girl starts another conversation, but not before tightening her hold on Hope's hand.

Hope listens to Penelope talking for like an hour, she gives simple answers or nods her head, but it seems enough for the raven haired girl. Then there's a silence, and Hope decides to take advantage of it.

"Thank you. For everything you said today, I really needed to hear that." She shyly confesses.

"No need to thank me. I would do it all over again if I'd have to, but I really wish I'll never have to. I never want to see you looking so sad like that again. It was honestly heartbreaking."

Their eyes lock and suddenly Hope feels like she can't breathe. Penelope was just being so sweet, and somehow it made Hope feel like she didn't deserve it. Hope gently takes her hand back and forces a smile.

"Who knew Penelope Park could actually be nice?" Hope says with a light chuckle.

Penelope smirks, knowing full well Hope is trying to shrug it off. To play it cool.

"Only when I think it's worth it." Penelope says looking straight into Hope's eyes.

Hope looks away from Penelope and back to the horizon. It was getting darker every minute. The Mikaelson girl hear her own stomach grumble, and that's when she remembers she had nothing to eat today.

"I should get to the kitchen while I still have time to get a meal." Hope quickly says before standing up.

"Sure! Want some company?" Penelope stands up too.

"Uh, no it's fine. I'll just grab something real quick and head to my room."

"Come on Mikaelson, just let me walk you to the kitchen. It's close to my room anyways…"

Hope gives Penelope a small smile. "Sure then."

They walk side by side to the door leading out of the roof. Before they go through it, Hope turns to face Penelope again.

"Hide that bottle, we don't need to get into trouble for that kind of thing."

"Sure, _mom _."

Hope gives the witch a little glare that's quickly replaced by a playful smile. Penelope makes the bottle disappear with a simple spell, and then they walk through the door.

"So! What are you having for dinner? Raw steak for your werewolf side or a cup of blood for your vampire side?"

Hope rolls her eyes, more in a playful manner than in an annoyed one.

"Neither. I was thinking about having a granola bar or something."

Penelope frowns, a little confused. "No blood at all?"

Hope shakes her head. "No blood."

The tribrid sees that Penelope is all kinds of confused.

"I don't need as much blood as a normal vampire. School's out of human blood at the moment anyways, Dr Saltzman still hasn't had the chance to get me more yet. And I only drink it when I have to."

"Wait? Human blood? What's wrong with the animal blood everyone drinks?"

"Since I'm a tribrid, animal blood isn't strong enough for me. Dr. Saltzman agreed to let me drink human blood, as long as Caroline was there at the beginning to help me control the urges, and I can't drink it with other vamps around, not everyone can deal with human blood, luckily I didn't have much trouble. And again, I don't need it that much, so..."

"Interesting." Penelope nods. "Don't you crave it though?"

"It happens sometimes, yeah." Hope gives Penelope some kind of nervous glance. "I try to push it down. I don't want my vampire side to be the one that controls me."

Their conversation lead them straight into the kitchen, and Hope quickly starts to look around for something to eat.

"Do you prefer one side of yourself?"

Hope stops looking through the fridge and let her eyes land on Penelope.

"How about we stop talking about me for a second?" The auburn haired girl grabs a can of soda and closes the fridge. "What's your favorite thing about this place?"

Penelope is taken aback by Hope changing the subject so smoothly. What takes her by surprise too, is the fact that Hope actually looks like she wants to know the answer to her question.

"I, uh, don't really know. Maybe the freedom, or the space between my family and me."

Hope nods and quickly gets some bread, peanut butter and jelly from the cupboard.

"Nothing more to say?" Hope asks again.

Penelope groans. "Okay. I love it here because it feels like home, and no place ever felt like home before."

Hope smiles but her eyes stay on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she's making.

"That sounds a lot more honest." Hope looks up when she's done and smirks when she sees the witch eyeing her sandwich. "Do you want one?"

Penelope shrugs. "How could I say no to that?"

Hope hands the sandwich to the other girl.

"Here. Take this one."

Penelope reaches for the sandwich, and maybe she grazes Hope's fingers on purpose. The tribrid quickly takes her hand back and looks back down at the sandwich ingredients. Without another word, Hope starts to work on her own sandwich.

Penelope smirks. "What about you? Why do you like it here?"

"It's safe. Since I was a baby, people have tried to kill me. When I came here, I finally felt safe."

Hope finishes her sandwich and turns around to put her knife in the sink.

"This place is my home too." Hope turns and gives a smile to Penelope. "We have that in common."

Hope takes the first bite in her sandwich and takes a quick look at the clock.

"It's getting close to curfew. We should head back to our rooms."

Penelope nods and turns around to walk out of the kitchen, Hope quickly following her. With every step, Hope wonders just how close Penelope's room is to the kitchen. She feels like she should say something and not just let the conversation die, but her words just seem to fail her.

And suddenly Penelope stops in front of a dorm room.

"So this is my room." Penelope says with a smile. "The sandwich is great by the way, thanks."

"You're welcome." Hope says. "So I guess we should say goodnight then."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Hope." Penelope says, leaning back on her door and smiling softly.

But Hope realizes that she doesn't want to leave, she just wants their conversation to continue, she wants to know more about the mystery that is Penelope Park. But it's late, and they already said goodnight, so the only thing that's left to do is leave. Hope gives the witch a small smile, and turns around, walking back to her room

Penelope almost expects Hope to look back, and is kinda disappointed when the tribrid doesn't. The only thing that comforts her is the look she recognized in Hope's eyes.

It's a look that reflects a certain feeling that she's sure she felt before, a look that would be easy to miss if you weren't paying attention, but she saw it.

It was like she knew exactly what was going through Hope's mind. Because she's been in her place before. _I wanna care about you, but i'm terrified of doing so. _

And she also knew from experience that her first instinct when that happened was to push the person away. To shut herself out of fear of getting hurt.

But what surprised her even more was to realize that she wasn't feeling that towards Hope.

What she feels for certain, is that Hope is stealing her heart without even trying to.

And amazingly, she is utterly fine with it.

She's also certain that after that last look, Hope will try and shut her off, build her walls up high to protect her heart.

But Penelope won't let that happen.

She can't let that happen.

It actually pains her to even think of letting this happen.

Hope's been through enough already, it's time for her to happy. And Penelope is gonna do everything in her power to show her how.

After everything that just happened, Penelope is more sure than ever.

She won't leave Hope alone, no matter how much she tries to push her away.

_I think it's official… I'm whipped… _

Penelope sighs deeply before closing the door behind her and leaning against it, looking at the ceiling.

_I won't let you push me away Hope. _


	4. Don't Look Back In Anger

Hope tries her hardest to focus on the punching bag in front of her. She punches and kicks, each hit stronger than the last. She's trying her hardest to let her emotions out in this way.

She needs to have control again. To not feel so out of it all the time. And maybe even to shake a certain raven haired witch out of her mind.

Hope stops everything when a loud whistle comes from near the door. There, Penelope stands with a smirk on. _Speaking of the devil…_

"What's getting you so worked up this early on a Saturday morning Mikaelson? Not that I'm complaining, 'cause the view is totally hot."

Hope rolls her eyes and stops the bag from moving, choosing to focus her attention on Penelope.

"Good morning to you too, Penelope."

The witch chuckles and walks closer.

"Morning Hope." The smirk turns into a smile. "So, what's up?"

Hope sighs. "Nothing."

"Nothing? I think that punching bag would say otherwise." She asks with a raised eyebrow

Hope sighs and wipes her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I just… There's a lot going on right now. I needed to do something to get it out, you know?"

Penelope let's out a little sound in understanding. _Of course, how could I forget?_

"And where's Dr. Saltzman to help you with that?"

Hope chuckles and softly punches the bag she was holding moments earlier.

"He and Mrs Forbes took Lizzie out. I don't know where though." Hope shrugs. "You know, since Josie's been spending a lot of time with Jade, Lizzie's been feeling… left out, I guess."

"Yeah… Jojo's really whipped this time huh?" Penelope chuckles. "I guess I'll just have to be the one helping you."

"What do you mean?" Hope says with a frown.

Penelope chuckles one more time and turns around, walking back towards the door. Under the eyes of a very confused Hope, the short haired witch walks out of the gym.

_Okay. That's just rude. _Hope thinks before punching the bag one more time.

After a couple of minutes of punching, Hope feels frustrated. She gives one final and hard kick, and then she stops. The Mikaelson girl catches her breath, and does her best to calm herself.

Just as she's about to turn around and go back to her bag, she hears footsteps into the gym. Hope turns and almost stops breathing when her eyes land on a Penelope Park that is wearing very tight training clothes.

"See something you like?" Penelope says with a smirk.

Hope swallows hard. "I, uh… What are you doing here in those clothes?"

The short haired girl rolls her eyes. "What do you do in a gym, wearing training clothes Hope?"

"Oh… I can leave if you wanna train."

"I'm here to train with you, Mikaelson. I thought I made that clear before I left" Penelope says with a raised eyebrow, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Hope's laughter comes as a surprise to Penelope. It's good to see Hope laugh so freely, but at the same time she can't help but be a little offended.

Penelope gives a glare to the Mikaelson girl, and slowly Hope's laughter dies out. The look the ravenette is giving her makes Hope pause for a second.

"Oh. You were serious." Hope says.

Penelope rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm serious."

Hope frowns. "Penelope… I don't think it's a good idea for me to train with a human."

"You train with Dr Saltzman all the time, and he's human." Penelope frowns, not buying Hope's excuse.

"I mean… Yeah, but he's got training, and I still have to hold back in order not to hurt him."

"Try me, Mikaelson, I think you'll be surprised." Penelope says before wiggling her eyebrows.

"You're really being serious right now?"

"Uhum, let's go." Penelope says, already moving into a fight stance.

Hope shakes her head with a smile. "Fine, let's do this."

Penelope's face lightens up. She honestly thought Hope would fight her harder on this.

They quickly start training, and Hope is pleasantly surprised with Penelope's skills. The short haired girl knows how to throw a punch, and how to protect herself. She even manages to keep up with Hope when it comes to endurance.

After Hope maneges to get Penelope pinned against the mattress, the raven haired girl feels like she has to step up her game.

"_Reversio." _She mutters and Hope is magicly dragged to the ground with Penelope quickly switching their positions and smiling smugly down at Hope's amusingly surprised face.

The Mikaelson girl decides to play Penelope's game, "_Repello," _she mutters and Penelope is off of her in a second.

Once they're both back on their feet Hope makes a move to attack Penelope again, but it's met by an invisible barrier that bounces her back, making her fall butt first on the ground.

As soon as Hope gets back on her feet, Penelope attacks. She's focused, her punches precise and her moves are flawless, Hope manages to dodge or block all of her attacks with relative ease, but not without having to back away a little bit.

Hope is thoroughly surprised and Penelope uses this moment to her advantage, she kicks down, swiping Hope's legs from under her, straddling her as soon as the girl hits the ground.

A soft gasp leaves the tribrid's mouth when her back meets the ground rather unexpectedly and the first thing she sees is the smug smile on Penelope's face.

"You're good there Mikaelson? Need a break?" The raven-haired girl teases with a fake pout.

Instead of replying Hope mentally casts "_Dimiterre" _throwing Pen off of her, and quickly gets back to her feet.

That's when Hope notices Penelope catching her breath. For the first time, the raven haired girl doesn't immediately get up, so Hope decides it's time to end their session.

At a speed that is far from human, Hope straddles Penelope and with a single hand at her chest, she holds her down before the girl has the chance to get up again.

For a second the short haired girl looks pissed, and tries to push Hope off, but when she understands it's no use, Penelope gives up. Her head fall on the mattress again.

Penelope knows Hope is smirking smugly, and it makes her want to wipe it off from her lips. But right now, she doesn't know if she'd rather use a punch or a kiss to do that. Instead of either of those things, Penelope decides to use her words.

"I should be mad right now but I think this view is worth losing for." She says with a smirk of her own. "I knew you were badass Mikaelson, but damn…"

Hope chuckles before getting off of Penelope.

"You're not bad yourself, Park. I'm seriously impressed." Hope says while helping the girl get back to her feet.

Hope turns her back to Penelope and walks over to her bag. She seriously needs some water right now. After taking a huge sip from her water bottle, Hope throws it at Penelope. The short haired girl barely catches it, but she still gives a grateful smile to her new training partner.

Penelope plays with the bottle in her hand before taking it to her lips. Just before she takes a drink, she decides to tease Hope one last time.

"Well… You didn't think that I looked like _this_ by doing nothing did you?" Penelope winks, and finally takes a drink.

She feels Hope's eyes on her, and the way the tribrid looks at her feels _good_. When she takes the bottle away from her lips, Penelope smirks at Hope, and the girl quickly looks away.

Hope grabs her bag and quickly moves to the door. She's totally panicking a little about the thoughts that went through her mind as her eyes traveled on Penelope's body.

"Hope! Your bottle…"

"Keep it!" Hope says as she walks out of the door.

Penelope's lips stretch slowly in a knowing smile.

* * *

Hope has been locked inside her room ever since she came back from training. She closed the door behind herself and leaned on it. Her heart was beating fast and she felt like a total mess.

Now, she's painting in her room. Vibrant colors are being used to paint a beautiful sunset. Hope knows where this image comes from, but she doesn't want to think about that. Painting was supposed to keep her mind off of Penelope.

Now that she let her mind slip to the short haired witch, Hope can't stop from thinking about her. Her hair, her eyes, her smile… Penelope is invading her mind.

That's why she's so relieved when her phone rings, and she sees her aunts name.

"Hi aunt Rebekah!" Hope answers quickly.

"Hello sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm, uh, good. And you?" Hope answers anxiously.

"You don't seem sure. What's going on?" Rebekah says back, worry clear in her voice.

"I ran into some troubles with one of dad's old enemies." Hope says with a sigh. "I fought him and hurt a guy I consider my friend. Penelope keeps saying it's not my fault bu-"

"Wait a minute. You got attacked? And no one thought to call your family?" Rebekah says, sounding angry.

"I asked Dr. Saltzman to keep it quiet. It was nothing, really. The guy wasn't even that strong."

Rebekah sighs on the other end of the line, knowing all too well that she was hiding something. That is why she called in the first place, they were getting close to that tragic date once again, and she knew how that would affect her niece.

"Don't do this sweetheart. I know you well enough to know when you're hurting, and don't think I forgot about the time of year we're in… Please, tell me what happened so I can help you."

Hope knew her aunt would bring it up, but hearing the concern in her voice made her think of all the times her mom talked to her like that. And just like that her whole resolve broke and all the feelings she was trying to get under control came rushing back to the surface.

It takes a little more caring words from her aunt to break Hope. That motherly care Rebekah used was so familiar, and yet so far away to the tribrid. As soon as her mother comes to her mind, Hope can't control the tears spilling on her cheeks and she finds herself telling everything to the older Mikaelson woman.

Rebekah is quick to try to give some comfort to her niece.

"Listen to me very carefully Hope Mikaelson. None of what happened is your fault. That man wanted revenge over something that happened way before you were even born. If anything, it was my fault. All of our fault actually. We failed you in so many ways. I'll never tell you enough how sorry I am about this. But that didn't gave him the right to say those things to you. I can't even imagine how much that must have hurt you... I'm so sorry darling."

Rebekah takes a deep breath before going on.

"Now, about your friend MG. That wasn't your fault either. I'm sure you never meant to hurt him."

"Penelope said the same thing..."

"Okay. I've heard that name twice in like ten minutes, and I'm pretty sure I never heard it before. Who's Penelope?"

"A girl." Hope deadpans. "A pain in the ass actually."

"I'm not gonna get more than that?" Rebekah asks, really curious about this new girl in Hope's life.

Hope sighs. She didn't mean to let Penelope's name slip. Now, she needs to explain something she doesn't even understand to her aunt Rebekah. So, she decides to go with the basic informations.

"She's a witch. A little younger than I am, she's seventeen." Hope thinks about other things she could say about Penelope Park. "She's annoyingly confident, cocky and a little arrogant. But quite-"

Hope stops what she was gonna say next when there's a soft knock on the door.

"Who is it?" She calls out.

"Hope, it's Caroline. Can I come in?"

Hope swallows with difficulty before quickly saying goodbye to her aunt.

"Auntie Bex, I gotta go, Caroline's at my door right now."

"Okay, sure… But we're not done with this yet darling." Rebekah warns. "Oh, and tell Caroline I said Hi."

Hope sighs, knowing full well her aunt isn't going to drop it. "Will do. Bye."

The tribrid quickly hangs up and tells Caroline to come in. The blonde woman opens the door and walks in with a soft smile and two cups, and the smell of blood quickly invades Hope's nose.

"Hi honey." Caroline says warmly.

"Hi." Hope replies, giving the vampire a smile too. "Oh, my aunt Rebekah wanted me to say 'hi' to you. So… double hi."

Caroline chuckles and moves closer to Hope, handing her one of the two cups. The tribrid takes the cup and quickly thanks the woman before immediately taking a small sip of the red liquid. The thirst was awful, but she kept it down. Caroline taught her well, she needs to take her time as she drinks blood. This way, she stays in control.

"Oh… So she called you already then?" Caroline starts.

Hope nods. "Yeah, we were on the phone when you knocked."

"Well, I'm glad she was faster than me on this one then." Caroline says with a soft smile. "I'm sorry I didn't come check on you earlier, I really wanted to. But there was a bunch of concerned parents calling yesterday."

Hope waves a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about that. I know you'd be here if you could." She says with an understanding smile.

"I assume she most certainly already checked on you. So I won't make you talk about that again. You probably talked about it enough with her."

Hope feels grateful in this moment. Caroline's thoughtfulness never seemed to falter.

"Thank you…" Hope thinks about a way she could give something back to the woman. Just something that would cease Caroline's worry a little. "You know… I've been making friends."

Caroline's eyes brighten and a big smile appears on her lips. The woman takes a seat on Hope's bed and looks at the tribrid expectantly.

"Oh yeah?"

Hope nods. "Penelope Park. She came to train with me this morning actually."

"Oh… And how did that go?"

"Surprisingly well actually… She's a pretty good fighter."

Hope is happy to move on to lighter subject with Caroline after that. She's happy the woman stopped by actually, and it shows as they spend nearly half an hour catching up. Then, Caroline receives a text and quickly excuses herself. Hope is a little down about her leaving, but she doesn't let it show. Instead, the tribrid smiles and thanks her for stopping by.

Caroline is almost out of the door when she stops and turns to look at Hope one last time.

"I'll drop by later to leave you some blood bags. Elena and I went to the blood bank earlier today, so we're stocked up again." She informs her softly, then playfully adds; "Thank god! Because If I had to drink anymore of that animal blood I think I would've lost my mind"

Hope chuckles at her "Yeah… That stuff is awful isn't it?." She says with an honest smile, and gratefully adds "Thank you."

When Caroline closes the door behind her, Hope sighs and lets herself fall on her bed. Why did she talk about Penelope Park to two of the most important women in her life?

* * *

Penelope walks into Potion class with Josie and Jade. They've spent lunch together since they all had the same class after. The short haired witch is starting to really like the couple's company. She gets a little distracted as she sits down though, since she caught sight of Hope from the corner of her eyes. The tribrid is sitting alone in the back, scribbling down on some piece of paper.

"Park?" Jade says, and Penelope quickly turns to look at her. "Damn, you have it bad. You realize it won't happen, right?"

Penelope rolls her eyes at Jade's playful teasing, and Josie's light giggle. But just as she's about to say something back, something weird catches her attention. The whole class is looking as Alyssa Chang walks over to Hope with the same hate on her face as the week before.

"How dare you show your face up here, pretending like nothing happened, after almost killing MG?" The witch spits at Hope. "You know what Hope? That man was right. You're just a fucking mistake."

Hope keeps her calm. "I already said I'm sorry, what else do you want from me Alyssa?"

"I really hate you, and I want you to get out of here, get out of our lives. You're like a plague, only bringing pain to those around you."

If Hope winces at her words, she doesn't show it. She wouldn't give Alyssa that satisfaction.

Suddenly, Alyssa's anger turns into a smirk as she looks at the empty seat besides Hope.

"But I guess people already realized that, due to the fact that you're sitting here, _all alone._ Exactly how a freak like you _deserves_ to be."

Hope stays there, frozen as Alyssa walks back to her chair. The tribrid doesn't even know how she feels anymore.

On the other side of the room, Penelope is fuming. Again, she stood there doing nothing as someone brought Hope down. She should have stopped Alyssa. She'll clearly have to do something about that stupid wanna be.

"Jade, change partners with me." Penelope asks quickly as she gathers her books.

"What?"

"You want to spend more time with your girlfriend, and I want to spend time with Hope." Penelope shrugs. "Everyone wins."

Jade looks at her girlfriend, and Josie just shrugs. It is a win-win situation, Penelope is right.

"One condition…" Josie says. "Just make sure Hope is okay. She took her distance from Lizzie and I, but we still care."

Penelope's smile softens and she nods. Then, she stands up and quickly walks over to Hope. Without a word, the short haired witch slides into the seat next to the tribrid's.

"What's up Mikaelson?" Penelope says, acting as if she noticed absolutely nothing.

Hope sighs, but she still forces a smile. "Hi Penelope." Confusion gets the best of her so she decides to add something. "Shouldn't you be with Josie? The class is about to start."

Penelope shrugs with a smile still on. "It's fine, I'm your new partner."

"What do you mean? I thought Jade was supposed to be my partner." Hope asks with a frown.

Penelope's smile softens as she thinks about how cute Hope's little frown is. Then she scrunches her nose with a little smile.

"I might have convinced her to sit this one out." Penelope adds a wink.

Hope sighs. "Why would you do that?"

"She wanted more time with her girlfriend, I wanted more time with you. Win-win situation." The raven haired witch nudges Hope's ribs with her elbow, receiving a glare from the tribrid.

"Oh come on Mikaelson, don't look at me like that. I know you like me. Deep down."

Hope rolls her eyes, but she can't contain her smile. "If you say so."

It's just then that the teacher walks in and starts class. Penelope watches her new partner with wonder. Hope seems to be studious. She listens to the teacher, takes notes and looks genuinely interested. After a while, they start a new project and get to talk again, but Hope doesn't talk about anything but the class. Penelope follows, willing to go with the flow.

They both lift their heads when Josie's laugh erupts from in front of them. Jade made the brunette laugh with a joke or something, but the teacher is quick to tell them to knock it off. As soon as he turns around though, Jade and Josie exchange a loving look.

Penelope catches Hope's soft smile as she turns back to their work and it gets the ravenette curious.

"Josie seems really happy with Jade."

Hope looks up. "Uh, yeah. She deserves it."

Penelope nods. "Yeah she does. You know what's funny though? I had the biggest crush on her last year."

Hope chuckles. "Me too, honestly. A few years ago, I mean. I think I was... 14?"

Penelope knew her curiosity would pay off.

"Oh, did you now?"

Hope shrugs. "It didn't last long, though. I realized she's more like a sister to me. I couldn't date her, and she deserves way better anyway."

Penelope frowns and quickly covers one of Hope's hand with her own. "Hey, stop this, okay? You're a total catch."

Hope quickly decides to change the subject when she feels her cheeks heat up. She gently takes her hand back as she speaks, her voice sounding more shy than she intended to.

"How about you? Not crushing on Josie anymore?"

Penelope feels a little frustrated that Hope decided the subject was over, but she still accepts it.

"We dated for about a week actually." Penelope chuckles and adds an ingredient to their potion. "It was terrible. It didn't feel right, so we decided to stay friends. She's been my best friend ever since."

Hope smiles and nods. "I'm happy she's with Jade now. She deserves to be with someone nice, who will care for her. Jade is all of this, and more. Plus, they're like really cute together."

"I know! It's like cuteness overload when they're in the same room. Makes me wanna puke." The short haired girl playfully says.

Hope lets out a little laugh, and Penelope takes it as a small victory.

* * *

Penelope joggs until she reaches Alyssa's side. The day's over now, but she still needs to make sure Alyssa knows not to mess with her people.

"Alyssa! Hi, how are you?" Penelope asks with her best fake smile.

The girl looks surprised for a moment, but she soon recovers and puts a fake confidence mask on.

"Hi Pen, I'm okay. What's up?" She tries to act cool.

Penelope sees right through her though.

"I was just wondering if I could borrow that cute skirt you wore on Saturday. I just think it'd be really cute with one of my shirts."

Alyssa's smile widens. "Of course, come with me to my room, I'll give it to you."

_Perfect. _Penelope thinks. She follows Alyssa to her room and does her best to keep the smirk off her face. She barely listens as Alyssa rants about some stupid thing, instead she smiles and nods. Adds a hum here and there to make sure the other witch doesn't get suspicious.

As soon as they get into the room, Penelope quickly takes a look around to makes sure Alyssa's roommate isn't there. When there is no sign of her, Penelope slams the door, making the other witch jump a little. Alyssa opens her mouth to say something, but the short haired witch is quicker. With a simple spell, she pines Alyssa to the wall.

"I think we need to have a little conversation about boundaries, Chang." Penelope says, suddenly serious, all traces of her previous friendliness, gone.

Then, she slowly walks closer, tightening her invisible hold at the same time. Alyssa's eyes are wide, and she looks panicked and confused.

"What the hell, Park?"

Penelope chuckles darkly before flicking her wrist, effectively locking the door. Then, she goes back to glaring at the other witch. She makes sure to look threatening, and by the way Alyssa gulps, she's doing just fine.

Everyone in this school knew way better than to mess with Penelope Park, she made sure of that as soon as she got sent to this school. She's powerful, and she's not afraid to use that power. She was smart enough not to get caught too.

Penelope is standing a few centimeters away from the other girl, still staring at her menacingly.

"Listen to me, Chang. Listen to me very carefully." Penelope pauses and Alyssa nods. "If you _ever_ speak to Hope like that again, I'll make sure you regret it. Got it?"

"Hope?" Alyssa spits with venom. "Why do you even care about that fucking bitch?"

Penelope smirks, and her next spell makes Alyssa's mouth disappear. The witch's eyes go wide, making the short haired girl's smirk even bigger.

"I suggest that you be very careful with the words you use when you talk about her. Because that mouth of yours could stay gone." Penelope pauses, making sure Alyssa understood her words.

"And, what I do is none of your business, _Chang_." She says, putting extra venom in her voice as the girl's name falls from her lips.

The short haired witch watches and makes sure her words have the effect she wants them to have. When she sees Alyssa tremble from fear, and tears building in her eyes, Penelope is satisfied.

"Stay the hell away from Hope, 'cause if you don't… I'll make sure you regret being born."

Penelope takes a final step closer, her face right in front of Alyssa's. The girl whimpers as she's being pressed even harder into the wall.

"Have I made myself clear?" The words are said slowly, and menacingly, making Alyssa's tears spill on her cheeks as she nods.

Penelope takes a step back, and lets a smile break on her face.

"Good. I'm happy we made that clear."

As she turns around, Alyssa falls to the ground. Penelope quickly says the spell to unlock the door, but then she turns around again. Alyssa is trying to stand up again, but her head quickly turns to Penelope when she realizes the short haired girl isn't leaving.

"Oh, and don't even think about telling anyone about this." Penelope's smile turns mean. "I have plenty informations about your... "extracurricular" activities. I'm sure Dr. Saltzman and Miss Forbes would both die to hear about those, don't you think?" She finishes with a wink.

Without waiting for any kind of reply, Penelope turns around and opens the door. She walks out of the room, and smiles at some students that are passing by. Meanwhile, Alyssa is still trying to recover on the floor. That's where her roommate finds her a little later. Though, Alyssa is quick to invent a story. She wasn't about to provoke Penelope Park's wrath again.

_Maybe giving those pens to everyone was wrong… But right now, I'm happy that I did. _Penelope thinks as she walks back to her room.


	5. You

After emptying her second blood bag of the day, Hope groans and tosses it into the trash can. Why didn't help? Maybe… No, this kind of situation does not justify her wolfing out. Those words shouldn't get to her like this, she should be passed that by now.

_Alone, just how you deserve to be._

Hope puts her hands on both sides of her head, she just wishes she could turn it off, but Alyssa's words keep repeating themselves over and over again.

She's not alone, she knows she's not.

There's people who care for her, who love her.

She's not alone, she can't be alone.

So why does she feel like this?

She's so caught in her own head that she barely hears the sound of her phone ringing.

_Rebekah_.

Hope's heart is still aching painfully inside her chest as she reaches for her phone and answers the call.

"H-hello?" She says in the phone.

"Hope?" Rebekah quickly says, her voice full of worry. "Sweetie, why is your voice shaking? What happened?"

This time, Hope doesn't even hesitate to say the whole truth to her aunt, no need for lies. Maybe getting it all off of her chest would even help her.

"I-I had a little confrontation with another student in Potion class. Remember when I told you about MG getting hurt?" Rebekah hums. "Well, the girl who yelled at me, Alyssa, seems like she wasn't done. She made a whole scene in class. I'm just… a little shaken up."

There's a pause, and then Hope decides to add something. "It just feels like everyone hates me..."

Rebekah sighs, knowing way too well the burdens that come with their last name. She tries to find something that could comfort her niece, make her feel a little less alone. A little more loved.

"Darling… Listen, the Mikaelson name has always brought a lot of fear. I've suffered from that times and times again, but it also comes with a lot of benefits."

Hope snorts. "Yeah, right…"

"I know it doesn't look like it now. But it does. "Rebekah says gently. "Hopefully one day you'll let me show you."

"Okay… If you say so. It just doesn't seem like people will see the _benefits_ here." Hope says with a dark chuckle.

"Honey, sometimes curiosity can be mistaken by fear. And fear, by hate. Maybe that's why you feel like people hate you." Rebekah offers gently. "And besides, that doesn't apply to everyone… I'm sure a lot of people care about you. There's the twins, Alaric, Caroline... They all love you, even when you push them away."

"It's been so long aunt Rebekah. Both of the twins moved on, they're happy. They don't need me around anymore." Hope quickly says, but it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself.

"You know that's not true, darling" Rebekah says as softly as she can. "The twins would _never_ shut you out."

"Aunt Rebekah-" Hope cuts in sigh.

The blonde woman quickly interrupts her niece since it's clear Hope doesn't wanna talk about her relationship with the Saltzman twins. Maybe it's a good time to get back to that new girl in her niece's life then.

"What about that Penelope girl you mentioned earlier?"

Hearing Penelope's name puts a stop to Hope's train of thoughts. Somehow, she had not been expecting her aunt to bring the short haired witch up. But then… Rebekah said they weren't done talking about her, so it shouldn't have been a surprise.

Then, the tribrid realizes that she doesn't really know what to say about that. No, Penelope didn't hate her. She actively tries to have some kind of relationship with her actually.

"Penelope is my new partner in Potion class." Hope decides to say. "I was supposed to be partnered up with Jade, Josie's new girlfriend, but apparently they switched partners."

"Penelope… Wait a minute, I've _heard_ this name before. Oh! Isn't she Josie's best friend?"

"Uh, yeah, she's the one." Hope scratches the back of her neck, suddenly feeling a little shy. "She's nice to me. Like, she's not really nice, but she's not the nicest person. What I mean is, she can be a bitch but it's not done in a mean way. Does that make sense?"

Rebekah chuckles, hearing her niece ramble like that was a rare thing. This girl must have a little something that makes her special.

"Well, she can't be that bad… I mean, she's Josie's best friend after all."

"She's not bad! Life just made her… rough, I guess. She has her walls up."

Rebekah hums. "Makes me think of someone…"

Hope rolls her eyes. "Really?"

"Okay dear, I get it. You know what? I definitely have to meet that girl now! Josie told me so much about her, and if she gets you rambling then-"

The tribrid quickly cuts her aunt, not really liking where this conversation is going. Actually, not liking it at all.

"Oh, aunt Rebekah! I totally forgot, but I have this really important assignment to do for tomorrow, so…"

"Which class?" The Mikaelson woman quickly asks.

"Oh, uh, geography class? Anyway, bye aunt Rebekah!"

"Hope-"

The tribrid quickly hang up the phone. Then, she sighs and lets herself fall face first on her bed. Why does talking about Penelope Park make her feel so jittery, and… happy? Quickly, Hope grabs one of her pillows, buries her face in it and screams.

* * *

_Two days later._

Hope and Penelope are going through their third training session together. The tribrid quickly notices that the short haired witch is not as vigorous as the first two days. Actually, Penelope looks tired. So, it's really no surprise when Hope pines the witch to the ground and Penelope just decides to give up. She lightly taps the tribrid's arm.

"Okay, I've had enough for today." The ravenette groans.

Hope smirks down at Penelope. "What's wrong Park? Can't handle training today?"

The raven haired girl rolls her eyes before pushing Hope off of her. The tribrid allows herself to be pushed away, she simply lays down by the short haired girl's side. They both stay like that for a minute or two. Hope lets Penelope catch her breath, stealing little glances at the girl from time to time. The short haired girl's eyes are closed, and Hope wonders what's going on in her head.

"A-are you okay?" Hope asks, her voice shaking a little.

A small smile stretches Penelope's lips, she opens her eyes a little and turns her head to look at Hope.

"Is this you caring, Mikaelson?"

Hope quickly turns her head, a faint blush covering her cheeks. She's avoiding Penelope's eyes because she simply can't admit she cares while looking at her.

"I don't care about a lot of people, Park."

The witch chuckles. "I know that. But… There's people caring about you, you know?"

The tribrid frowns and looks at the dark haired girl again.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember Potion class on Monday?" Hope nods. "I asked Jade to change partners with me, because… I really wanted to be with you after what happened with Alyssa. But, you also got Josie so worried, she only agreed in us changing partners if I'd make sure you were okay."

Penelope chuckles. "Then, she ambushed me after class, demanding to know how you were holding up."

Hope closes her eyes for a second. Feeling guilty about worrying Josie like that. Guilty about making Josie feel like she can't even ask her, by herself, if she's ok. She just wishes she could take some of her words and actions back and restore her relationship with the twins.

The auburn haired girl sighs, and then she sits up. Slowly, she brings her knees close to her chest, holding them with her arms. Then, Hope leans her cheek on her knees, facing Penelope.

"I don't want her to worry... She should be happy, she's supposed to be enjoying her life, not worrying about me..." She says, her voice so small Penelope has a hard time believing it's Hope that said the words.

The short haired witch sits up too, and crosses her legs. She looks the tribrid in the eyes, and the vulnerability she sees in them amazes her. She understands just how scared of caring Hope really is. Just how much it pains her to actually let people care about her.

"It doesn't work like that when you care about someone, Hope, and you know it." Penelope softly says.

The softness in her words and in her eyes confuse the tribrid. She still had a hard time adjusting to Penelope Park acting any other way than in a _Penelope Park_ way.

Hope takes a deep breath before she forces a smile. Then, she quickly stands up and starts gathering her stuff around the gym. After a couple of seconds, she can hear Penelope doing the same. She glances at the other girl once, then twice. The witch never looks at her, or if she does, Hope doesn't catch her. When she has everything, Hope heads for the door, but before exiting the gym she has to do one last thing.

Hope swallows the lump in her throat, and clenches her fingers around the strap of her bag. Then, she looks over her shoulder and she finally meets Penelope's eyes.

"Thank you, Penelope."

The witch's smile quickly turns in a smirk. "For what?"

Hope decides to ignore the teasing in Penelope's words. "_Everything_."

* * *

Penelope Park is now a permanent presence in Hope's life. Everywhere the Mikaelson girl goes, the raven haired girl follows. It's a slow process, it starts with Penelope walking Hope to class. Then, it's the witch sitting with the tribrid during every meal. It even goes as far as them hanging out after class. At first, Hope acts all annoyed, and maybe she really is a little annoyed by Penelope's sudden intrusion in her everyday routine.

She's soon proved wrong though. As the days pass, she finds herself enjoying Penelope's presence and her cocky attitude. It feels good to have someone by her side once again. It makes the tribrid almost feel light again.

Maybe her feeling lighter has to do with the fact that Alyssa Chang decided to stop bothering her all of a sudden. Hope wonders what made the witch change her behavior, because she didn't just stop picking fights with her, she also started to actively avoid Hope. The tribrid was walking down a hallway with Penelope in the middle of the week when Alyssa appeared on the other side. The girl's eyes went wider than they ever been before, and in a second she disappeared from in front of them. Hope's confusion kept her from seeing the smug grin on the short haired witch's face.

Or maybe it has everything to do with Penelope. Because even with all the teasing, all the flirting and the smirks, Penelope's attitude brings Hope comfort. A kind of comfort she can't quite explain, because she's never felt it before. At first, Penelope's jokes would make the tribrid roll her eyes in annoyance, but it quickly left place to her rolling her eyes fondly.

The whole week is spent like that. With them slowly getting closer, and with Hope "_leaving_" more and more room in her life to Penelope. They spend the weekend together. Sparring in the morning, catching up on homeworks in the afternoon. The Mikaelson girl even agrees to let Penelope watch a movie in her room on Sunday night.

Hope thinks it's strange that the ravennette sticks around now, when the tribrid is basically at her worst. With every day that week, the Mikaelson girl gets a little more down. I little more closed off. Even though she does her best to act as if everything is normal, she knows that the witch sees right through her, and knows that she's lying when she says she's fine, but Penelope doesn't push, and Hope is grateful for that.

Soon after the witch leaves the tribrid's room on Sunday night, Hope realizes she's alone. That thought is all consuming and it makes her feel even worse than she felt all week. To quiet the noise in her own head, Hope takes a long shower. It helps, even if it's only a little. Then, she slips under the covers of her bed. It takes hours for her to finally surrender herself to sleep.

* * *

_Hope turns in circle, because it's the only thing she can do. It's like something stop her from doing anything but looking around. She sees so many familiar faces around her. Her family, her friends…_

_She stops as soon as her eyes fall on the faces of her parents. Hayley and Klaus are both standing in front of her, smiling softly. They look happy, they look proud. The tribrid desperately wants to run to them, to hug them, but her body refuses to move. She feels like screaming, or maybe even crying, but that doesn't happen either._

_Then suddenly, her father and her mother both make a face as a shadow rips their hearts out. The two bodies fall to the ground under Hope's wide eyes._

_The dark figure moves, and Hope's eyes are drawn to follow it. Just like that, she has to watch it rip the hearts out of all her aunts and uncles. She tries to fight whatever keeps her from moving, but she can't even cry, how could she move?_

_The Saltzman family is next. They all fall to the ground, one by one. Alaric, Caroline, Lizzie and then Josie. When the brunette twin falls to the ground, Hope expects it to be over. There's no one else she cares about anymore-_

_But the shadow keeps moving, Hope's anxiety spikes up, and when her eyes fall on the last victim, they grow even bigger than before._

_Penelope Park._

_The witch has her usual smirk as she looks at Hope, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits her. One last time, Hope tries to scream, but nothing comes out. Then, the ravenette's eyes grow wide and she looks down at her chest. The dark figure moves away with the last heart in its hand, and Penelope falls to the ground._

Hope quickly sits up in bed. A cold sweat is covering her body, she's trying to catch her breath and the fear she's feeling seems to be seeping into her bones. The tribrid puts her face in her hands. Images of her nightmare keep invading her mind, she sees everyone falling to the ground over and over again.

The Mikaelson girl can't stop the stream of tears running down her cheeks, and suddenly, for some reason she hears the voice of her aunt in her head.

_The twins would never shut you out._

Hope helplessly tries to stop the tears by wiping them away, but it just doesn't work.

_The twins would never shut you out._

She can still see her parents' smiles. But then they fall to the ground, dead, one more time.

_The twins would never shut you out._

Her whole family. In a matter of seconds, the mighty Original family was gone.

_The twins would never shut you out._

Josie, Lizzie… Alaric and Caroline. All gone.

Even freaking Penelope Park. Dead. Because of her

Just as she thinks of the raven haired witch, her voice invades her brain instead of Rebekah's.

_You got Josie so worried…_

_It doesn't work like that when you care about someone, Hope, and you know it._

The tears don't seem to want to stop. She keeps wiping them, keeps telling herself to just _stop crying._ Without another thought, Hope pushes her covers and gets out of bed. She quickly changes her sweaty shirt for a clean one, and throws an oversized hoodie on top of it.

Then, without even thinking, she heads out of her room. Her feet take her through the familiar path to the twin's bedroom and it's like her body is moving by itself, simply reacting to her heart's desperate desire.

Once there, helplessly, Hope watches her hand knocking on their door.

The next thing her brain registers is Lizzie Saltzman opening the door of her room with a scowl on her face, looking like she's ready to murder the person that just disturbed her sleep.

As soon as Lizze's sleepy eyes focus on who's at the door, her face instantly softens. The annoyance of being awoken immediately goes away, but is quickly replaced with worry as she takes Hope's state in.

The Mikaelson girl's sweater is way too large for her, it falls just above her knees, making her look even smaller than she is. The long sleeves are being clenched into shaking, but very tight, fists. However, it's the hot stream of tears running down Hope's face that makes Lizzie's heart clench painfully inside her chest.

The tribrid tries to meet the blonde twin's eyes, to give her some sort of explanation. Her mouth opens, but her voice never comes out, and once again her vision is completely blurred with the tears that don't want to stop falling.

Lizzie doesn't miss a beat, she steps closer and brings Hope into a tight hug. It takes a few seconds for the auburn haired girl's arms to go around the taller girl's waist, but as soon as they do, she doesn't let go.

Hope clings to her, desperately trying to soak in every bit of comfort the blonde girl's arms are giving her. It's still not enough, though. Something, _someone,_ is still missing. As if _feeling_ this, Lizzie gently brings Hope into the room.

When the door closes, Josie expects sounds of steps to follow, but they never come. She lifts her head from her pillows when instead of steps, she hears soft, _oddly familiar,_ sobbing coming from the door's direction.

"Lizzie…" Josie says as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes. "What's going on-"

The brunette stops talking as soon as her eyes catch sight of auburn hair, and it's all it takes her to quickly push her covers away and get out of bed. In a second, Josie is on her feet and running to the embracing duo.

As soon as she feels Josie's body pressing against her, and a second pair of arms wrapped tightly around her, Hope loses it. Her cries turn into heavy sobs and she lets go of all the feelings that have been burdening her lately, but now, unlike of all the times she cried alone, her heart finally feels at peace.

The twins share a look, and they seem to come to a silent agreement. With Lizzie never letting go of her hold on Hope, and Josie with one arm still tightly wrapped around her waist, they slowly start moving towards the brunette's bed. Hope trusts these girls with her life, so she blindly follows their lead, letting them move her to wherever they want, seeing no reason to protest. She couldn't even if she wanted to.

Josie quickly glances at her slightly messy, full sized bed and gives her twin a quick look before begrudgingly leaving their embrace. As soon as she takes her arm back from where it was resting around Hope's waist, the tribrid gives her a distressed look, and Josie's heart twists painfully inside her chest at how desperate her eyes look. The only reason why she doesn't immediately throws her arms back around the girl is because she sees her twin tightening her hold around Hope's small body.

The tribrid turns and buries herself a little deeper into Lizzie, the blonde girl's hold never loosening. The siphon whispers soothing words, her right hand getting lost in auburn locks. Hope may not be her twin, but Lizzie still feels every little bit of pain coming off of her.

Josie, as quickly as she can, grabs all of the pillows and blankets from Lizzie's bed and sets it in hers, rearranging everything to make sure they would all be comfortable. Once done, she moves closer to the duo again, and gently pushes them apart.

The brunette witch takes one of Hope's hand in hers and gently gets her on the bed. Josie lays down on the far side of the mattress, opening her arms while angling her body slightly towards Hope, who instantly cuddles into her side.

The Mikaelson girl practically lays on top of the brunette, her head resting on top of Josie's chest, with a leg thrown across hers, bringing them even closer, needing as much contact as possible. Once she's comfortable, the brunette's arms close tightly around her.

Josie holds Hope as close to her body as she possibly can to make sure the auburn haired girl can feel her, and know that she's _there_.

As soon as they're settled, it's Lizzie turn to join them. She spoons Hope protectively from behind. The blonde girl throws her arm around the tribrid's waist and holds her close, not leaving a single gap between their bodies. It doesn't take long before Hope is hugging the blonde's arm close to her own chest.

Once they're all comfortable in their cuddling, they release a collective sigh. Hope's tears haven't stopped, but she feels better. Now that she's in the arms of her best friends, she feels safe, she feels _loved._

Despite the tears never really stopping, her sobs turn quiet again, and Hope can feel her heart calming down. Due to how close their bodies are, she can also feel the twins' hearts beating against her, and that makes her feel warm inside. Everything about this moment helping to set Hope's intense feelings at ease.

The Mikaelson girl can't believe she kept herself from having this for so long. How could she do that to herself? All the twins ever did was make her feel better.

None of them realize when sleeps takes over, but they fall asleep still in that position.

Josie and Lizzie _neve_ letting go of Hope.


	6. Adore You

Josie couldn't tell what wakes her up that morning. Maybe it's the warm rays of sunlight that shines through the curtains of her room. Or maybe it has something to do with the weight she can feel on her chest. Slowly, she opens her eyes and looks around her room for a second or two, as if to make sure she's really in _her _room. Then, her eyes fall on Hope's head laying on her chest.

Oh. _Hope's _head is on her chest.

That's when memories of what happened last night come crashing through her mind.

A knock on their door. Lizzie groaning, but still getting up to open the door. Hope looking completely shattered.

Josie's eyes linger on the tribrid's face and it breaks her heart again. Hope's cheeks are tear stained, and she looks like she hasn't gotten a good night of sleep in a long time.

The brunette's heart tightens painfully as she wonders just how bad things were for her friend for Hope to break down like that. She definitely expected Hope to be sad this week, after all Josie knows full well what week it is, but she doesn't think she ever saw the auburn haired girl this broken.

The brunette girl hesitates for a moment before executing her next move. She'd hate to wake Hope up, but at the same time, if she doesn't do this… Her parents will come banging on the door and that would wake the older girl up anyway. She can't let that happen.

Josie gently places her hand on Hope's biceps, and soon enough it's glowing red as she siphons a little bit of magic. The only reaction it gets out of the older girl is a quiet groan before she snuggles even closer to the brunette. The Saltzman doesn't take much, just enough for a quick summoning spell. In a second, her phone appears in her hand and quickly she starts texting, careful not to move much and wake Hope up.

•_ Mom, could you excuse Lizzie, Hope and I from classes today? _

It takes a second for the woman to answer.

_— Honey, what happened? Is something wrong with Hope? _

Josie sighs in relief. Of course her mother already mostly knows what is going on.

•_ She's not okay… She came to our room at 3AM._

_She was crying, mom... It was heartbreaking. _

_— Take care of her. I'll stop by as soon as I can. _

_Love you sweetie. _

_• _We_ will. Okay, love you too, mom.'_

Josie shuts her phone off and puts it away. She sighs, her eyes roam the room again, noticing the dim light coming in. Hearing the soft sound of the wind shaking the tree's leaves outside… All of it almost lull her back to sleep, but she's determined to stay awake. She doesn't want the tribrid to think she's the first one to wake up.

When she looks back down at Hope, she's sure she made the right decision. The older girl just looks so peaceful in her sleep, and her body feels relaxed against Josie's own. It would be a shame to wake her up.

Josie's next move is something she did on numerous occasions before. Softly, she plays with Hope's auburn hair, her touch feather light as to not wake the older girl. In this moment, the brunette feels good. Like they were finally back to how they were supposed to be.

Suddenly though, Hope's hoodie catches Josie's attention. A small smile plays on the younger girl's lips as she recognizes the worn out blue hoodie. Another thing that makes this moment even more familiar than it already was.

* * *

_Meanwhile _.

Rebekah and her husband Marcel are moving around their apartment in sync. They're preparing a important meeting. One they've been stressing over for a few weeks now. New York's vampires are arrogant, but Rebekah knows this is important. This could change the world if they do it right.

She's almost done gathering her papers when her phone rings. She almost ignores it, but when she glances at it and sees Caroline's name, Rebekah quickly picks it up.

Despite her anxiousness, and being in such a rush, a small smile appears on her face as she accepts her friend's call.

"Hello, love." Rebekah greets, in her british accent. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me?"

"Hi Bekah." Caroline says, her voice wavering even if she only says two words.

The Original vampire quickly catches her friend's worry.

"Care... What's wrong?"

"Are you still in New York?" Caroline asks, and Rebekah quickly answers by the affirmative. "Look, I know you're really busy, and that you were planning on dropping by later this week… but I need you to come here as soon as you can."

"Caroline, just tell me what's wrong."

"It's Hope… She's not okay, Bekah. Josie just told me she was knocking on the their door in the middle of the night, bawling her eyes out." The twins' mother sighs. "I think she really needs all the support she can get right now. I'm worried about her."

As soon as her niece's name falls from Caroline's lips, Rebekah uses her vampire speed to walk around the room and grab her things. In a matter of seconds, the blonde woman's clothes are all packed up and she's still listening to Caroline's explanation under the curious eyes of her husband.

"I'm on my way Care." Rebekah quickly says. "I'll call Freya as soon as we hang up to see if she can come too, but baby Nik's been sick for a couple of days, so I don't know if she'll be able to go. I'll try anyway."

"Okay. Thank you, Rebekah. I'll see you later then."

"Thanks for the call love, see you later."

As soon as she hangs up the phone, Rebekah turns to Marcel.

"Marcel, you'll need to take care of this meeting yourself. Caroline just told me Hope's not doing okay, I'm heading to the Salvatore school right now."

The man quickly frowns, worry clouding his face. "Should I come too? I mean, I'm sure we can push this meeting to a later date-"

"No, stay and do this for us." Rebekah says with her sweetest smile. "I'll call you if we need you."

"You're sure?" Rebekah only nods her head. "Ok. Take care of her."

She leaves a quick peck on his lips before heading for the door and dialing her sister's number.

"Have a safe trip!" Marcel calls out.

"Of course. I love you." Rebekah says over her shoulder.

The blonde woman hears him say it back just as the door clicks shut behind her, and it might put a small smile on her lips.

* * *

Hope wakes up to soft fingers threading through her hair, arms around her waist and feeling safer than ever. When she blinks her eyes open, it takes her a couple of seconds to understand why she's feeling so safe, but when her eyes meet warm brown ones, she understands.

She came to the twins the night before and got the comfort she was so desperately craving. Now, with Josie's fingers playing with her hair and Lizzie's arm tight around her waist, Hope feels like closing her eyes again. She's a little afraid this actually is a dream.

"Morning sleepy head." Josie whispers.

Hope gives her a little smile. "Morning Jo."

"Did you sleep well?"

Josie's care is unwavering, and it warms Hope's heart. The tribrid's smile gets a little wider as she squeezes the brunette.

"Yeah, thanks to you and Lizzie." She sighs and pauses. "Did you?"

The brunette twin shrugs. "Too warm. Your werewolf warmth is a bitch."

The teasing smile on her friend's lips makes Hope roll her eyes. Then, the tribrid does something that she knows will infuriate Josie. She uses a single finger to poke at the brunette's ribs. It earns her a yelp from Josie, and soon enough Hope is fully tickling the younger girl. It makes her think of not_ that _long ago, when they were still close. Josie makes half-hearted attempts at setting herself free, and they're both laughing hard, forgetting about the blonde girl still asleep.

Except that Lizzie isn't asleep anymore. She hasn't been sleeping since Hope started to attack her sister. The blonde girl lets the tribrid have her fun for a little while before she decides to finally go to her twin's rescue. Lizzie tightens her hold on Hope's waist, bringing her closer to her own body, and farther from Josie.

Hope whines. "Lizzie…"

The blonde smirks. "You weren't complaining when I did this last night."

Hope places her hand on Lizzie's and moves it to her chest again, over her heart. "I'm still not."

Josie smiles as she looks at them cuddling, but then she feels a little left out and gets closer. Hope is quick to tug her close until the three of them are all intertwined together. They all sigh, and stay silent for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the proximity.

Now with the sun softly illuminating the room, Lizzie can get a good look at the girl in her arms. And what she's wearing.

"Uh… Hope?" Lizzie breaks the silence.

"Huh?" Hope mumbles softly.

"Is this _my _hoodie?" The blond inquiries.

Hope quickly looks down, cringing a little as she realizes that, yes, she's totally wearing Lizzie's hoodie.

"Uh… yeah?" She admits shyly. "I think I stole it by accident. You know, before…"

"Before you started ignoring us." The blonde cuts in. Not being able to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"Lizzie!" Josie scolds.

"What? I'm only stating the truth." The blonde twin rolls her eyes, before settling her attention on Hope again. "You were always the one wearing it anyway, so I didn't mind that much when it disappeared. I just wondered where it ended up."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I wanted to reach out sooner, I swear, but… You both looked happy, like you've moved on... And I didn't want to get in the way of that, even though I was dying to be a part of it." Hope says, regretfully.

The tribrid feels Lizzie's hold tighten, and sees the tears in Josie's eyes. It makes her realize that Penelope was right. She wasn't the only one hurting from this situation, her best friends were hurting too.

"As for the hoodie… I think I'm just so used to wearing it whenever I feel alone, or sad, that I didn't even realized I had it on before you pointed it out." Hope then directs her words to Josie. "I still sleep with that stuffed wolf you gave me. Every night. It comforts me, makes me feel safe, just like the hoodie."

That's when Josie's tears start to spill, and Hope could swear Lizzie is crying too. She wonders if she somehow upset them, if she did something wrong. Even with all the doubt clouding her mind, the tribrid decides to keep talking. It was time to spill everything. Now or never.

"Even though I kept my distance, I still needed you two." She says, almost begging them to believe her. "Always did, and always will. You're both basically my _sisters _… And I've missed you so much." Hope confesses, the tears starting to fall again.

The Mikaelson girl tries to wipe her tears away, but new ones always replaces them. After a couple of seconds, and many attempts, Hope gives up. She just has to accept that she won't stop crying any time soon.

"Last night made me realize just _how much _I truly _needed _you… I'm so sorry it took me so long..." She sobs.

Josie's arms circle around Hope's waist and suddenly the tribrid is being crushed in a hug by the brunette, leaving Lizzie a little behind. It takes a second for the blonde to collide into Hope's back again, and the auburn haired girl has never felt more crushed and loved at the same time.

"Idiot." Lizzie says through her own tears, but it comes out with fondness rather than bitterness.

"Lizzie, stop it." Josie says, sending a glare at her sister over Hope's shoulder.

Hope lets out a soft chuckle though, so Josie's face softens.

"We never gave up on you, you know? We just took our distance because we thought that was what you wanted." The brunette says softly while looking into the tribrids eyes. "And as far as I'm aware, you _are _our sister _, _Hope. We love you, and you'll always be a part of us."

"You're forgiven dummy." Lizzie adds, leaving a kiss on her shoulder. "Just never do that again or I'll kick your ass."

Josie rolls her eyes at her sister's words before giving her attention back to Hope. "I'm not letting you push us away again."

"Good." The tribrid says in a sigh, feeling her heart swelling with love.

"That said. You're not leaving this room today."

"Lots of cuddles?" The tribrid asks with hope filling her voice.

The brunette chuckles. "Yes, you'll get all the cuddles you want. Mom gave us the day off."

Hope smiles gratefully. "Thanks, I really need that after last night."

"What happened last night anyway?" Lizzie quickly asks.

"I had a nightmare…" Hope winces. "Today is-"

"Your mom…" Josie says softly. "We know."

The tribrid nods. "It was just so horrible. I saw her die again, heart ripped out of her chest. I saw my dad die too. You two, your parents… Everyone I love." With that, sobs started to make her shake again.

"Hey… Hey, it's okay." The blonde twin says as she tightens her hold one more time."You don't have to talk about it. You're okay. We're okay."

The twins both whisper comforting words. They tell Hope time and time again that they love her, that they're both there for her now and that everything is gonna be okay.

It takes a while for Hope to calm down, but when she does, the room falls silent. Josie is softly playing with Hope's hair, a simple thing she's been doing ever since they were kids. Lizzie is just holding the tribrid close, sometimes rubbing gentle circles on Hope's skin.

They stay in that comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the time they can finally share together. It's only when there's a soft knocks on the door that the girls seem shaken out of their quiet peace. A second later, Caroline's head pokes in and she smiles fondly as her eyes fall on them.

"Hi sweeties, can I come in?" The blonde woman asks with a soft smile.

The three girls all answer in their own way, getting a light laugh out of the vampire. She missed seeing them like this. Caroline pushes the door open and walks into her daughters' room. As soon as Lizzie's eyes fall on the food in her mother's hands, she's out of bed and jogging to get some. Hope rolls her eyes.

"Trading me already? I thought we were having a cuddly day, Liz."

"Josie's still cuddling you." Lizzie says with a shrug. "Stop whining Mikaelson, I heard your stomach growling, do you want me to get you food or not?." She teases.

Hope groans. "Fine!" She gives a quick look to Josie. "Are you hungry?"

The brunette nods, so the tribrid releases her hold on Josie's waist allowing her to get up too. It takes a couple of seconds, but soon enough the three girls are all up and ready to eat the food Caroline brought for them.

"Oh, Hope, I also got some clothes from your room." The woman says with the same soft smile she seems to always have. "I thought you'd like to take a shower and change."

The tribrid takes the offered backpack with a grateful smile. She opens it to find a few options of clothes, including her "I love New Orleans" shirt in it. For some reason, that brings tears to her eyes. It quickly gets the twins and Caroline worried, but when they see a smile reappear on Hope's face, they share a confused look.

"Thank you Caroline." The Mikaelson girl says. "I really appreciate it."

The vampire woman watches as her daughters and Hope settle on Josie's bed to eat. They all talk a little, but Caroline mostly watches. She makes sure the Mikaelson girl eats enough, and empties her cup of blood. It warms her heart to see them almost as close as they used to be before Hope lost her parents. For a moment, the woman wonders what pushed Hope to finally reach out to the twins, not that she'd ask though.

When the girls are done eating, they all clean up quickly. Then, Josie and Lizzie go back to the bed and Hope goes to follow. Just before she sits back next to Josie with the intention to get some more cuddles, Lizzie stands up and stops her. Hope frowns and opens her mouth to ask what's going on, but the blonde twin beats her to it.

"No. Shower first, cuddles later. You smell."

"What? I don't-"

Josie chuckles, cutting off Hope's words. "Go. You'll get all the cuddles you could ever want when you're done."

Hope opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before she rolls her eyes and turns around to grab the backpack full of her clothes.

"Well, it's time for me to go girls." Caroline announces. "I'll come back later."

"Thanks mom!" The twins say together.

"Thank you Caroline." Hope adds softly.

The blonde woman gives them all a quick hug before she walks out of the room. Hope doesn't waste another second, as soon as Caroline is out of the door, the tribrid goes to the bathroom. She quickly gets into the shower, and sighs as the warm water makes contact with her skin. At first, she intended to only take a quick shower, but it got longer when she realized just how good it actually felt.

It's only when the water starts to get colder that Hope realizes how long she's been in there. The tribrid sighs, but this time it's more an annoyed sigh. She turns off the water and steps out of there. She grabs a towel and dries herself before looking through the bag again. Underwear, leggings, shirt… and her toothbrush! Caroline really thought of everything.

It takes Hope a couple of minutes to get dressed and wash her teeth. Then, she stops for a moment and look at herself in the mirror. She thinks about pulling her hair in a messy bun, but then another idea comes to her.

The tribrid steps out of the bathroom with a shy smile. The twins are talking quietly, both still sitting on Josie's bed. The brunette quickly gets up when she sees Hope walk back into the room, and that's when the Mikaelson girl notices the piece of fabric in Josie's hand.

The brunette twin smiles and hands Hope the hoodie in her hands.

"Here…"

Hope takes it and looks down at it before giving Josie a confused frown.

"It's one of my hoodies. We thought… since you already have one of Lizzie's, I could give you one of mine too."

Hope's frown quickly leaves place to a full blown smile. Without missing another second, she pulls Josie in a tight hug. The brunette hugs her back just as tightly. When the hug is done, Hope wastes no time and puts the hoodie on. It's not as big as Lizzie's, but still way too big for the tribrid. Josie's scent is strong, and it makes Hope feel even safer than she already felt. She sighs and then looks back at the twins. They're both looking right back at her with matching soft smiles.

"Do you want to braid my hair?" Hope asks with a smile, knowing full well how her _sisters _will react.

Lizzie's whole face lights up and Josie claps excitedly. The brunette quickly takes one of Hope's hand in hers and pulls her to the bed.

"Sit down, I'll go get everything we'll need!" Josie says with a wide smile

The Saltzman girl disappears for no more than a minute before coming back and sitting next to the tribrid on the bed. Each twin starts to work on a braid, like they've done so many times before. Hope always loved to have someone play with her hair, she finds it incredibly soothing. The Saltzman girls work in silence, and it makes the Mikaelson girl a little nervous.

"Lizzie… how is it going with Emma?" Hope hesitantly asks, not sure if she even has the right to ask.

The blonde's fingers stop for a second, or maybe two, but then she keeps working on her braid.

"Good. We're having meetings once a week, Josie makes sure I take my medication and… I think I'm doing good."

Lizzie gives her sister a look, almost as if to make her confirm what she just said. Josie smiles and gives a little nod making the blonde twin smile too. Hope hums, and a soft smile appears on her lips too.

"I'm happy to hear that." The auburn haired girl pauses before focusing her attention on the other Saltzman girl. "And you Jo? How's it going with Jade? I saw how happily in love you are."

Josie's cheeks immediately turn bright pink. "We've just started dating, love is a strong word."

"But you are, aren't you?" Hope says, gently teasing the brunette girl.

The blush gets darker, but then the siphon sighs and chuckles. "Yeah…"

If Hope could have turned around, she would have seen the dreamy smile on her _sister's _lips, but Lizzie's giggle gives her a pretty good idea of the look on Josie's face. Hope's smile gets a little wider. Her _sisters _are good, they're happy, and that's enough to make her feel so much better.

They chat about a little bit of everything as the twins work on Hope's hair. Lizzie jokes around a lot, making Josie and Hope laugh. The tribrid is a little sad when she can tell the braiding is coming to an end, but then there's a knock on the door. The blonde twin quickly ties the end of her braid, and then she stands and goes to open the door. Hope tries to turn her head, but then Josie softly tugs on her hair.

"I'm not done yet!" The brunette says, making the tribrid roll her eyes.

So Hope stops moving, but she focuses her attention on Lizzie and the person that is standing outside of the twin's bedroom. As soon as the blonde opens the door, she rolls her eyes and lets out an _annoyed _sigh.

"I had a feeling you'd stop by." Lizzie says.

"Who is it Liz?" Hope asks her _sister _.

"It's Satan. In a crop top." Lizzie pauses as she gets a good look at Penelope's shirt. "An infuriatingly pretty one actually. Where did you get it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." The raven haired witch teases with a smirk.

"Come on Satan, spill."

"Karma's a bitch isn't it, 'Voldemort'." Penelope remarks cryptically.

Lizzie seems to get what she means though, cause an annoyed sigh leaves her mouth, which only amuses Penelope. The short haired witch, then arches an eyebrow.

"Will you let me in or what?"

The siphon quickly looks at Hope over her shoulder, lifting a brow in a silent question. The tribrid nods, a bit too quickly, making Lizzie smirk. Then she rolls her eyes one more time as she opens the door wider and stands to the side, allowing Penelope to walk inside. The blonde closes the door when the Park witch is in, and then she walks to the bed and sits back down.

"Hi Penny." Josie greets with a smile.

Penelope gives her best friend a soft smile. "Hey Jojo."

Her eyes fall on Hope, but before she can say 'hi' to the tribrid, Lizzie speaks up again.

"To what do we owe the displeasure of your presence here, Satan?"

"None of your business, Voldemort." The short haired witch immediately says back, as if they rehearsed this very conversation before.

Josie sighs as she ties the end of Hope's braid. "For how long are you two gonna keep pretending that you don't like each other?"

Penelope smirks. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jojo."

Lizzie chuckles. "Yeah. No idea either…"

The two witches exchange a look, and soon enough Penelope winks at the blonde twin, both of whom knowing exactly what Josie's talking about. Hope watched the whole scene unfold. At first confused, then a little worried and only to end up amused by their playful banter.

It takes a couple of seconds for Hope to realize that Penelope never actually acknowledged her presence since she walked into the room. For some reason she feels hurt, but she does her best to ignore it.

Penelope walks over to Josie and hands her a piece of paper folded in two.

"Your girlfriend got worried when she heard you weren't gonna go to class." The witch says. "She wanted to come over here herself, but… You know she has a lot to catch up in class, so I offered to come instead. She wrote you this."

It doesn't take long before Josie is on her feet and taking the note from Penelope.

"Thanks Penny… For not letting her skip class, you know?"

"You're welcome Jojo, now go and read the note…" The Park girl says with a teasing smile."I know you're dying to."

Josie nods and quickly goes to sit on her chair by her desk, but not without glancing back at Hope. The tribrid smiles fondly and gestures for her to go ahead. As soon as the brunette twin is gone from Hope's side, Penelope replaces her. The Mikaelson girl watches her friend sit down, not even noticing the faint blush covering her own cheeks.

Lizzie quickly nudges Josie, making sure they both were seeing the same thing. The Saltzman twins exchange a knowing look, but when a teasing smirk appears on the blonde's lips, the brunette is quick to softly slap her arm in warning.

"Hey you…" Penelope says quietly, as it is only meant for Hope's ears.

"Penelope, hi." The tribrid answers with a little smile.

The short haired witch is about to speak again when Josie's voice cuts her off.

"Do you mind if I answer it?" She asks holding the note up.

Penelope smiles and shakes her head. "Go ahead Jojo, I'll be your personal postwoman today."

"Thanks Pen." Josie smiles one last time and then she turns around and starts writing.

The ravenette opens her mouth, but she's once again cut off.

"I'm gonna take a shower while Josie writes her love note." Lizzie says with an exasperated sigh, then she looks at Hope. "You'll be okay?" She asks softly, her voice helding no traces of the fake annoyance it had seconds before.

Hope bites her lip, but she nods. Lizzie quickly looks from Hope to Penelope and then back to Hope. She gives the tribrid a nod too, and then she goes to the bathroom with her clothes in hands.

"Finally…" Penelope mutters.

Hope chuckles, her vampire hearing caught that very well. The little laugh gets her a fond look from the Park witch, a look that makes the tribrid quickly advert her eyes.

"How are you doing, Hope?" The short haired girl asks, hoping to spark a conversation between them.

"I'm good." Hope says, and when she sees Penelope's expression of disbelief, she decides to add something else. "I'm good now."

"You know…" The witch starts, not quite meeting Hope's eyes anymore. "It got me worried when I saw you weren't in class this morning. I went to Caroline and she told me you were here, and that you wouldn't be attending class at all today. That's when I decided to come."

The tribrid smiles a bit teasingly. "I thought it was to deliver Jade's note."

Penelope winks at Hope. "That was just an excuse to come see you."

"Oh…"

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Penelope asks so softly that warms the tribrids heart.

It makes Hope hesitate. She scans the raven haired girl's face, but all she sees there is genuine care and worry. So, the tribrid takes a deep breath.

"I had a nightmare, uh… a bad one." Hope swallows with difficulty. "I came here, without even really knowing what I was doing. They took care of me... So, now I'm good."

Penelope smiles and nods. She's a little surprised by the little details Hope was willing to give her. She wasn't expecting much when she asked, but the witch is happy the tribrid decided to confide a little to her. They're slowly making progress.

Penelope knows she won't get more though, so she easily changes the subject. She proceeds to tell Hope the adorable reaction Jade had when she heard Josie wasn't coming to class that morning. It makes the tribrid smile, and it's honestly the only thing Penelope was hoping for.

It's not long after that that Josie joins them. She sits down on Hope's other side and easily cuddles her. The Park witch watches with curious eyes as the Mikaelson girl welcomes the embrace with a soft smile. They keep talking, Penelope's eyes never really leaving the embracing duo.

Then, Lizzie gets out of the bathroom, she quickly takes Josie's place and cuddles the auburn haired girl as her twin goes to take a shower too. Hope welcomes Lizzie's cuddles just as easily as she welcomed Josie's and suddenly Penelope feels jealous. Usually, she'd have a hard time admitting that, even to herself, but now there was no denying the feeling in her chest. She quickly looks away, hoping it would help to subside the jealousy. It helps when the blonde Saltzman girl starts their playful banter again. It keeps her mind off of the fact Hope isn't in _her _arms.

It's not too long before Josie's out of the shower. The brunette looks fondly at the three girls sitting on her bed. She joins them, and then they fall into easy conversation. Every girl notices how quiet Hope seems to be, but no one says a thing about it. The tribrid is smiling, listening and cuddling, and that's good.

They get lost into the conversation, and Hope feels so happy with just being there that none of them see the hours pass until there's a knock on the door. Before anyone can stand up to open it, Caroline walks in, closely followed by MG. They're carrying two plates of food each. They both greet the girls in the room but then, the tribrid's stomach growls, and Lizzie gives her a side look.

"How can you already be so hungry when we ate so much this morning?"

Hope shrugs. "I'm basically always hungry."

It gets a couple of chuckles from everyone in the room, and a fond smile from Penelope, a smile that Josie quickly catches. The Saltzman girl playfully nudges her best friend, getting an annoyed eye roll in return.

"Penelope…" Caroline starts with a soft glare. "We'll talk later about you skipping class, is that clear?"

The short haired girl shrugs with a smile. "Yes, ma'am."

Their lunch is spent with little conversations, laughter and comfortable silences. Hope is sitting down on the floor between the twins. In front of them are Caroline, Penelope and MG. With the witch in front of her, the tribrid finds herself blushing and avoiding her eyes from time to time. When they're all close to be done with their lunch, Penelope stands up. Hope's eyes follow her almost automatically.

"I think I should deliver your note Jojo."

Caroline frowns. "What note?"

The Park girl smirks. "She wrote a little note for her girlfriend."

Everyone watches as Josie's cheeks suddenly turn bright pink. The only person who's not amused is Hope. The auburn haired girl's face falls, she didn't expect Penelope to leave so soon. She thought they'd spend the day together, with the twins. The blonde vampire quickly catches the disappointed look on Hope's face, so she decides to stand too.

"Since you already skipped half of your classes, I think you should stay here." Caroline extends a hand. "Give it to me, I'll hand it over to Jade."

Before Penelope can place the piece of paper in the vampire's hand, Josie quickly snatches it away. The siphoner's cheeks are now dark red, clearly really embarrassed.

"You know what? I'll just send it over with magic."

Then, the brunette goes back to sitting next to Hope. She looks the tribrid in the eyes as she places her hand on Hope's arm. The Mikaelson girl nods, giving her consent for Josie to siphon some magic. The Saltzman girl's hand turns red, and as soon as she feels enough magic coursing through her body, Josie whispers a spell. The note burns in her hand, Turning into sparks before vanishing.

"Of course you'd use a fire spell to send it over." Hope chuckles.

"Shut up." Josie says before gently shoving the tribrid.

"I think it's time for MG and I to go." Caroline says, a soft smile on her lips.

The boy is quick to stand up and follow the head mistress to the door.

"Bye girls…" His eyes linger on the blonde twin. "Bye Lizzie."

As soon as the door closes behind the two vampires, Penelope directs a serious stare at Lizzie.

"Okay. Either you go on a date with him, or you tell him it's not gonna happen." She says sternly. "Stop playing with his feelings."

Lizzie snorts and rolls her eyes. "I have no idea of what you're talking about Park!"

"You'd have to be totally blind to miss his heart eyes!" The short haired witch shoots back. "The boy's been in love with you since the day you met!"

The blonde opens her mouth, but soon closes it again. She avoids Penelope's eyes, and stays silent for a while. When she looks back at Penelope there's a glint in her eyes.

"You'd know everything about the _heart eyes _wouldn't you, Park?"

Hope's eyes grow a little wider at that, and for some reason, the thought of Penelope being into someone makes her heart clench. The tribrid is pretty sure she's the person who's been spending the most time with the Park witch recently. So who could it be? She quickly shakes the thought away. It's not like she wants the raven haired girl crushing on her. _Right? _

The short haired witch is fuming. She can't believe Lizzie brought it up like this, in front of Hope. She feels like she could murder the Saltzman girl right now. She's about to fire back with something not so nice when Josie's voice cuts her off.

"How about a game of Monopoly?!"

Hope, Lizzie and Penelope all look at the brunette. The Saltzman girl has a hopeful, yet nervous smile. It makes all of them feel a little guilty about the fight that was about to happen. No one wanted to hurt Josie, or even make her a little bit sad.

"Sure Jo." Hope agrees with a smile.

Lizzie stands up. "I'll get the game."

The game lasts hours, and the Mikaelson girl is enjoying it way too much. She manages to buy a few good properties, has a ton of money and she even gets to tease Lizzie. The blonde siphoner always hated this game. Ever since they were kids. Lizzie Saltzman never won a single game of Monopoly. Penelope is a great addition to their game. The girl is clearly competitive and ruthless, and it makes Hope chuckle a couple of times.

Lizzie is the first one to lose, then goes Josie. Hope and Penelope are the only ones left. The witch has a ton of money, and almost all the properties. The tribrid knows full well where this is going.

"Fine Park…" Hope sighs. "You win."

"Don't pout Mikaelson… You beat me everyday in training." Penelope says with a wink.

The tribrid shakes her head with a little smile.

"God! I'm exhausted!" Lizzie says dramatically from where she's laying on her bed.

"Tired of losing, Voldemort?" Penelope teases, getting a glare from the girl which only makes her chuckle rather _fondly _at the blonde girl. "We could watch a movie then."

Josie or Lizzie exchange an excited look.

"Pillow fort!" They say together.

Without waiting for a reply, the twins get to work under the amused eyes of Hope and Penelope.

"Hey…" Penelope whispers.

Hope jumps at that. She quickly looks to her right, where Penelope is standing. She honestly didn't think the witch was so close to her. Hope can feel herself blush, so she quickly looks back at the twins.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go back to my room for a moment. I want to shower and get out of my uniform." Penelope explains.

The Mikaelson girl crosses her arms over her chest, doing her best to seem indifferent. "Sure, you do what you gotta do."

"Okay… I'll see you in a bit." Penelope smirks.

Then her next move takes the tribrid off guard. The witch leaves a quick kiss on Hope's cheek, it was barely there, but it still left the Mikaelson girl completely dazed. Before she can react, Penelope excuse herself to the twins and leaves the room. Josie and Lizzie glance at their _sister _, still standing in the same spot where the Park witch left her. They watch as Hope's fingers graze the skin that made contact with Penelope's lips.

"She's so whipped…" Lizzie whispers to her twin.

Josie gives a little slap to her twin's arm. "Stop it. You know she can hear you if she wants to!"

When the twins are done assembling the fort, the three girls quickly settle inside of it. Hope sees it as an opportunity to cuddle her _sisters _again, since she didn't get as much cuddles as she was promised when the day started. The twins gladly welcome the embrace, and then Lizzie suggest they choose the movie while Penelope is away. Hope and Josie share a little look, knowing full well the person who's gonna choose the movie is Lizzie, and only Lizzie.

They fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the moment. Then, there's a knock on the door, quickly followed by Penelope's voice "It's me, I'm coming in."

Hope watches as Penelope walks through the door, and in that moment she's happy that no one else in the room has super hearing, cause she's sure her heart just skipped a few beats at how beautiful the girl looks dressed in black leggings and an oversized white sweater. Her wet hair looks even darker, making her hazel green eyes pop.

_How does she look so beautiful in such casual clothes?! _

Little did she know that Penelope thought the exact same thing when she laid her eyes on the tribrid earlier this morning.

"I brought ice cream." The Park girl says with a smile. "And… a sandwich for the tribrid."

Hope immediately smiles at that, and her stomach makes a noise letting everyone in the room know it was a good idea. The three girls that are already in the fort sit up, and Penelope quickly joins them. Lizzie and Josie are both sitting on the right side of the fort while Penelope and Hope took the left side. The Park witch gives the twins a bowl of ice cream each and then she hands the tribrid her sandwich.

Hope smiles as she sees how much attention Penelope put into this. The sandwich contains lots of meat, salad… and no tomatoes. The witch remembered Hope doesn't like them. Then, Penelope carefully wrapped the sandwich, which would make it easy to eat without making a mess. The Mikaelson girl addresses a grateful smile to her _friend _before carefully unwrapping her sandwich.

"Let's start the movie." Lizzie says, her smile big.

"What?" Penelope says with a frown. "Aren't we choosing together? Or at least vote on it?"

"No, we are not." The blonde answers as she starts the movie.

Hope rolls her eyes as she sees the all too familiar first scene of Starstruck playing on the screen. Slowly, she lets her eyes wander to the twins. Josie's head is casually resting on Lizzie's shoulder. The cuddling seems nothing more than natural and comfortable. For a moment, Hope's eyes stay glued on them. Then, she bites on her bottom lip before looking to the girl sitting next to her.

Penelope's eyes are on the TV screen. She's watching the movie until she feels the Mikaelson girl's eyes on her. Slowly, she turns around and meet Hope's eyes. As soon as she's caught, Hope looks down, and then back at the movie. It only makes the witch wonder what was going on in the tribrid's head. She decides to look over at the twins, maybe they knew what was going on. When Penelope sees them cuddling, a soft smile graces her lips before a thought comes crashing through her brain.

Her eyes go back to Hope. The tribrid doesn't meet her eyes even though she feels Penelope's gaze on her.

"You want me to hold you, don't you?" The raven haired girl whispers in such a soft voice that it overshadows any hints of the soft teasing she intended to include in those words.

Hope's head quickly turns and suddenly — even though her face heats up — she has no problem meeting Penelope's eyes.

"Would you mind?" She asks in a shy whisper.

Before the short haired girl can answer, they're interrupted by giggles coming from the twins. At first, Penelope thinks they're laughing at what happens on the screen, but she soon sees that the girls are actually looking at them.

"What?" Hope sends the Saltzman twins a glare. "I'm small, okay?"

The tribrid's words only send the two girls in another fit of laughter. She's about to say something else when she feels Penelope's hand softly takes hers.

"Whatever you say, Hope." The raven haired girl's also chuckling quietly, but the look in her eyes is gentle. "Come here…"

The ravenette tugs on the tribrid's hand, and Hope lets herself be pulled in, but not without rolling her eyes in the process. Penelope's hand goes around Hope's waist, gently tugging her closer again. When they're comfortably snuggling, with the tribrid's head resting on the witch's shoulder, the Mikaelson girl sighs. This definitely feels good. Somehow, it's very different than when she'd cuddle with one of the twins. With them, she feels safe and their embrace is familiar. She still feels safe in the raven haired girl's arms, but there's something else. Something that makes her heart almost skip a beat.

Instead of dwelling on that, Hope decides to take another bite of her sandwich. When she's done with it, and Penelope is done with her ice cream, they move and lay down on the pillows. Hope cuddles even more into Penelope's side, and the witch says nothing as she tightens her embrace.

The raven haired witch sees how the tribrid's eyes look heavier with every second passing by. When Hope finally surrenders herself to sleep, Penelope smiles fondly down at her. She's never seen the older girl look so peaceful before… It looks good on her. It's just sad she doesn't get to see Hope's beautiful blue eyes as she has this expression on her face.

They get further into the movie, and suddenly there's a loud noise that comes from the screen. Penelope flinches, afraid it would wake Hope up, but the tribrid only groans quietly before burying her face deeper in the witch's neck. When the Mikaelson girl's nose brushes her skin, Penelope stops breathing for a second. Then, she can't stop a lovesick smile from stretching her lips as she looks down at the tribrid.

"Do you realize what it means?" Penelope looks at Josie — who has an amused little smile on her lips — and then the brunette adds something else. "I mean… For her to actually fall asleep in your arms?"

The fond smile never disappears from Penelope's lips, but now a light blush is added to the mix.

"Shut. Up." The raven haired witch mouths to her friend.

She's not sure if she wants Josie to stop teasing her, or if she just wants her to stop talking because she might wake Hope up. Still, Josie rolls her eyes before focusing her attention on the movie again. The Park witch decides to do the same. At one point, she starts rubbing little circles on Hope's skin, and she could swear Hope released a heavy sigh when she started.

During the whole movie, Hope sleeps peacefully, nothing disturbing her anymore. It's actually almost done when there's a soft knock on the door. The three girls that are still awake look at each other curiously, and then they hear the door open. Josie quickly pokes her head out of the fort to see who would come inside before they got invited. She's relieved to see her mother there, just taking in the scene in front of her.

Caroline is smiling. "Is there room for two more in the cuddle pile?"

"Sure!" The brunette answers sweetly, but then she frowns.

Before she can say anything though, Lizzie's head pokes out of the fort right beside Josie's and she beats her to it.

"Wait, two?"

Rebekah suddenly walks into the room, a wicked smile on her lips.

"How are my girls doing?"

Penelope frowns when she hears the voice since it doesn't sound familiar at all, but then the twins both squeal happily and run out of the fort. It's at that moment that Hope stirs into Penelope's arms. The short haired witch looks down just in time to see the tribrid's beautiful ocean eyes flutter open. They look in each other's eyes no more than a second before Hope looks away shyly, her face heating up.

"Aunt Rebekah!" Both twins exclaim excitedly as they throw themselves into the Original's outstretched arms. Rebekah's lifts them from the ground, swaying them gently in her tight embrace, an amused smirk on her lips.

The tribrid quickly sits up at that, and before Penelope can react, she's rushing out of the fort.

"Aunt Rebekah?!" Hope says, not believing her own ears.

The Original releases the twins before she brings her niece in a tight hug, feeling Hope burying her face in her neck as soon as the embrace starts. She can feel the happiness radiating out of the auburn haired girl, and it brings a soft smile to her lips.

"Hello darling, how are you doing?"

Hope gets her face out of her aunt's neck to look up at her. "I-I uh… I'm okay. Auntie Bex… what are you doing here?"

"A dear friend of mine said my niece needed me, so I hopped in the first plane to get here."

The tribrid immediately knows Rebekah is referring to Caroline, so she looks to the twin's mom and gives her a grateful smile. The Mikaelson woman's gaze fall on the pillow fort Hope just came out of, and she lifts a brow.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" The Original vampire asks with a fond voice. "It looks like you guys had fun."

Hope's eyes follow her aunt's. "It was amazing… and it's even better now."

They smile at each other, and then they're broken out of their moment when Penelope crawls out of the fort. The short haired girl stands up and looks at all the people in the room, her eyes finally landing on Hope and her aunt.

Rebekah smirks. "You must be Penelope."

The Park girl's jaw almost hits the floor. "Y-you know who I am?"

Rebekah chuckles. "Yeah... " She gestures at Hope and Josie. "These two won't shut up about you."

Lizzie tries her best to contain her laughter. First, it was Penelope fangirling over her aunt, and now the look on Hope and Josie's faces… Just when she feels like she'll break, there's a knock on the door. This time, the person on the other side waits until they're invited in to walk inside the room.

MG walks in with a box in hand, and a wide smile on his lips.

"Good evening ladies!" He looks at Caroline. "I got everything you wanted Caroline! The food, plates, forks, knives… Glasses! Because I also brought you some blood. I thought of everything."

The vampire woman walks to him and takes the boxes from his hands. She manages to keep a straight face when she sees the bags of animal blood in the box. _What a clueless, yet adorable, boy… _

"Thank you so much MG."

He nods. "Of course." His eyes land on Lizzie. "Hi Lizzie…"

"Hi MG." The blonde twin answers, avoiding his eyes.

He clears his throat. "Good night everyone!"

He runs out of the door at vampire speed. Caroline sets the box on Lizzie's bed and sighs.

"What's wrong love?" Rebekah asks as she gets closer.

"Come and see for yourself."

The Original vampire walks to the box, closely followed by Hope. The tribrid scrunches her nose in disgust as soon as her eyes land on the animal blood.

"I am so not drinking that."

"Of course not, sweetie." Caroline answers. "I'm gonna get that back to the kitchen and bring back the real stuff."

At vampire speed, Caroline gets out of the room.

"Let's prepare everything while she's gone." Rebekah says.

By the time Caroline gets back with human blood bags in hands, the girls prepared all the plates and they're ready to eat. They all settle on the floor to eat, and Caroline pours the blood in three different cups. She hands one to Rebekah, and one to Hope. Penelope subtly glances at the tribrid as she brings the cup to her lips, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

The meal is filled with light conversation, but when the short haired witch is done eating she's harshly brought back to reality.

"Penelope, I have to speak with you." Caroline says, and when the Park girl opens her mouth, the vampire lifts a hand to silence her. "Privately."

Hope watches the headmistress lead her _friend _to the bathroom with worry in her heart. She wonders what it could be all about. It can't be about Penelope skipping class, Caroline looked way too serious for that.

"Do you know what this is about?" Hope asks her aunt.

The blonde woman is surprised to hear so much worry in the tribrid's words.

"I-I have no idea sweetheart." Rebekah says with an apologetic smile.

Then all of sudden, Penelope storms out of the bathroom and back into the twins' bedroom.

"Of course they don't need me there!" She yells angrily. "Their prodigal son is on the way after all!"

The witch quickly stops talking and walking when she realizes every eyes in the room are on her. Caroline's news got her so mad she actually forgot where she was. Rebekah, Hope and Lizzie all have that pity in their eyes and it makes Penelope feel like running out of the room. It's only when she catches Josie's understanding gaze that Penelope decides to stay.

"Penny..." Josie softly says."What happened?"

Penelope knows Josie is well aware of what that was about, but when she meet the shiphoner's eyes is like she could hear her saying; _It's okay, you can talk to us. We're all here for you. _

She takes a deep breath and sits back down next to Hope.

"I… I, uh, have family problems." Penelope says, then she swallows the lump in her throat before speaking again. "My parents always wanted a son… Let's just say I was a disappointment before I was even born. Since then, they did everything they could to act as if I don't exist. And now that my brother is on the way, they don't even want me in the coven's annual meeting."

Every word coming out of Penelope's mouth is said with the same anger, the same venom. However, the tears spilling on her cheeks tell another story. Hope's heart completely breaks as she sees her usual confident _friend _being so upset. Seeing Penelope in this state is totally unbearable, and it fills the tribrid with the need to protect her, to keep her from ever shedding a tear again.

Hope walks on her hands and knees until she can sit behind Penelope. When she's there, the tribrid places her legs on each side of Penelope's own. Then, she circles her arms around the ravenette's waist, hugging her close.

"It's okay to be sad Pen…" Hope whispers close to the Park girl's ear.

With Hope's arms around her and the tears clouding her eyes, it comes crashing through her that she is indeed devastated by her parents' actions.

"W-what if… what if they don't even let me meet him?" Penelope manages to say through her tears.

"Wait a second sweetie." Rebekah says suddenly. "I'm really sorry to interrupt, but what is your last name again?"

"Park."

"As in Cassandra Park?" The Original pushes.

The raven haired girl frowns. "Do you know my _mother _?"

The blonde woman nods. "I met her a couple of years ago when I was looking for a way to stop the Merge. She never mentioned having a daughter… Now I know why."

Rebekah reaches out and takes of Penelope's hand in hers and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry love, you'll meet your brother. I'll make sure of it." She manages to say gently despite the rage boiling inside of her.

Penelope gives the woman a grateful smile, somehow trusting every word coming out of her mouth. Hope's hold only gets tighter after that, and it allows the raven haired girl to relax a little more with every second passing by. At one point, the tribrid rests her chin on Penelope's shoulder, making the Park witch lean into her even more. Hope keeps whispering comforting words to the other girl. She stops when she feels that Penelope is relaxed in her arms. They fall into a comfortable silence until the short haired witch lets out a heavy sigh.

"God, I'm exhausted." Penelope quietly says.

Gently, Penelope pushes Hope's arms away so the tribrid is no longer holding her. She gives a little smile over her shoulder to the Mikaelson girl, and then she stands up.

"I think I'll head back to my room." Penelope says, slowly walking to the door.

Hope is quick to follow her, not really knowing why she does, but walking the witch to the door seems to be the right thing to do. Penelope stops when she's at the door, she turns around and looks at everyone in the room. They all have soft and understanding looks on their faces, and for a second, it makes Penelope shy. The last person she looks at is Hope.

The girl who owns her heart and doesn't even know it…

"Thank you Hope." Penelope says, voice small and eyes barely meeting the Mikaelson girl's eyes.

Hope gives a little smile to the other girl before reaching for the door's handle, and opening it. She watches as Penelope stays standing there, looking even more shy and uncertain than she was a few seconds ago.

Then, all of a sudden, the short haired witch leans in and plants a lingering kiss on the tribrid's cheek. Her lips stop making contact with Hope's skin, but she stays close, whispering another "thank you" that sounds a thousand times more personal than the first one. Penelope moves away then, giving a little smile to Hope.

"Anytime…" The Mikaelson girl manages to say before Penelope disappears from her sight.

Hope closes the door then, and leans her forehead on it. Trying to make sense of everything that happened that day.

Despite the last events Hope's happy that now, her mother's death anniversary would no longer carry just a sad memory, but a wonderful one too. However, there's no denying it, the image of Penelope crying is a bittersweet stain to the memory of what could've easily been one of the best days of her life.

With that thought, Hope turns and walks back to her _sisters _. She definitely needs more of their cuddles now. Once she's properly sandwiched between them, she lets her mind relax even though her thoughts stay on a certain raven haired witch.

_Why does seeing Penelope sad hurts so much? _


	7. Life Is A Highway

-⊰-※-⊱-

Hope looks at the clock on the wall, her frown deepening one more time. She's been pushing off her training session with her aunt Rebekah for the past twenty minutes. She was just so sure that Penelope would show up... She always shows up. The Mikaelson girl sighs, accepting that her _friend _is not coming today.

Rebekah places a gentle hand on Hope's shoulder. "Maybe we can start training and Penelope could join us when she gets here?"

"I don't know... Should I go over to her room and see if she's okay?"

"I think she just needs a little time darling." The blonde woman watches as her niece bites her lip, visibly hesitating on what to do. "She'll come around when she's ready."

"Right." Hope nods. "Okay... Let's start."

The tribrid follows her aunt and tries to push every thought of Penelope out of her mind, but it doesn't work. She ends up on the ground way too many times that day, but that was to be expected. Rebekah is one of the Original vampires, of course her fighting skills would be superior. And besides, the Mikaelson girl can't say she's totally focused...

The remaining of the day looks pretty much the same as her training session. She spends time with her aunt, with lingering thoughts of a certain witch running through her mind. The thing is, Penelope never shows up that day, and it makes Hope worry a little more with each passing hour. Rebekah is the only thing keeping the tribrid from going to the Park girl's room and see if everything is okay for Penelope.

_Time. _Penelope needs time, that's what Hope's aunt keeps repeating, and maybe the tribrid is tired of hearing that, but she won't tell her aunt about it. She'll give Penelope time, but it doesn't mean she doesn't feel the witch's sudden disappearance.

_— I never thought I would miss Penelope Park teasing me... How did she became such a familiar presence in my life this quickly? Well, I guess that's how it feels when you've got a friend..._

-⊰-※-⊱-

Second morning of training without Penelope Park.

Second morning of getting her ass kicked by her aunt.

When Hope's back collides with the floor, she groans in pain. Being a tribrid has nothing on an Original vampire who has lived through over a thousand years. Hope tries to get out of Rebekah's grip, but the hold her aunt has on her only gets tighter, and her smirk only gets more smug. After another failed attempt, Hope taps Rebekah's arm in surrender.

"Oh, wow..." Hope's head snaps in the door's direction, instantly recognizing the voice. "That's a first."

Somehow, Penelope's wink is so far from annoying in that moment. Hope's eyes are glued to the witch who's slowly walking into the room with her gym bag. The smirk on Penelope's face puts a small smile on Hope's.

"So, can I join even though your aunt is here?" The raven haired girl teases.

Hope nods quickly. "Uh, yes. I mean, of course you can." She then looks at Rebekah "Right?"

Rebekah roll her eyes and stands up, releasing Hope in the process. The blonde woman chuckles as Hope just sits up.

"You're acting as if we weren't waiting for her to join us." Rebekah teases.

Despite the blush covering her cheeks, Hope chooses to ignore her aunt's words. She watches as Rebekah grabs her water bottle and drinks from it, and understands that they are now officially having a break. Quickly, the tribrid stands up before carefully walking to the Park witch. Penelope's teasing smirk is still on, and as soon as she sees that Hope is close to her, she opens her mouth to speak, but the tribrid beats her to it.

"Hi..." She says softly "Are you okay?"

The concern in Hope's voice is enough to totally shatter Penelope's walls. The smirk slips and leaves place to a slightly shocked face.

"I'm sorry." The Mikaelson girl quickly blurts out. "Maybe you don't wanna talk about it, and that's okay. I've just... been worried."

Hope's words make Penelope's heart skip a beat, and for a moment she can't even meet the tribrid's eyes. So, she sets her bag on the floor, and it gives her a couple of seconds to recover.

"It was hard. I mean, my parents have done things like that before and maybe I should have expected this one... but it still hurts."

The ravenette sighs, and crosses her arms over her chest, a defensive gestures she's well aware she's using. Penelope finally looks Hope directly in the eyes, and the concern she reads in them pushes her to say more.

"I knew that my brother's arrival would change things, make them..." Penelope pauses, hesitating on her next words. "Worse, but I didn't expect it to affect me that much."

Tears are slowly building up in her eyes, and Penelope quickly wipes them away. She's not willing to cry again, no after spending the day before doing just that. Then she shrugs, trying to seem tougher than she feels in that moment. Just as she's about to brush it off, Hope reaches out and gently forces the witch to uncross her arms. When it's done, the tribrid carefully takes Penelope's hands in hers and squeezes. Hope's simple gestures are enough to totally break the walls the ravenette girl was trying to raise, and instead of trying to fight it, she allows herself to be vulnerable once again.

"I just needed a little time to process everything... and cry a little." She then gently squeezes Hope's hands back. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

The Mikaelson girl's smile is soft and it warms Penelope's heart, making her glad she decided to open up a little more.

"Girls!" Rebekah calls out. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but are we gonna train or what?"

Penelope smiles and starts walking to where the Original vampire is standing, but then Hope tugs on her hand, forcing her to turn around and meet the tribrid's eyes again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hope gently asks again, and Penelope nods. "Will you tell me if you aren't?"

This time the Park witch decides to use her words to reassure Hope. "I will."

The tribrid offers her friend a tight-lipped smile, worry still clouding her mind, but she knows she has to let it go for now.

"Okay."

They waste no time to get back to training after that. The three of them decide that it'll be Rebekah vs Hope and Penelope. For a short moment, the two girls manage to keep up with the vampire, but soon enough, the witch runs out of stamina and surrenders. The short haired girl sits to the side and watches her _friend _fight against her aunt.

The fight is brutal, sometimes it just looks like a blur due to them fighting at vamp speed. When she can actually see what's happening, the witch can't help but be thoroughly impressed. It seems neither Hope nor Rebekah wants to lose it. At one point, Hope falls to the floor following one of the blonde's attacks, and Penelope thinks it'll be over. But then somethings seems to switch within the tribrid.

Hope is suddenly back on her feet. She lifts her head and gets her hair out of her face, allowing the ravenette to watch in awe as the Mikaelson girl's face changes. The purple glow flowing through the veins covering Hope's face knocks the air out of Penelope's lungs. Her eyes are glued to the scene unfolding in front of her.

Rebekah's smirk barely has time to form before Hope is knocking her to the ground. The tribrid overpowers the Original vampire like it's nothing. The blonde hits the floor with a groan, but her famous Mikaelson smirk quickly appears on her lips.

_— You don't wanna lose in front of her, huh?_

The Mikaelson woman isn't ready to give up just yet though. She tries to get up, but in the blink of an eye, Hope straddles her, holding her down. The intensity on her niece's face gets worse every time she has to tighten her hold, and it makes Rebekah understand that the fight is over. She won't win this one, Hope won't allow her to.

Eventually, Rebekah taps the tribrid's arm in surrender. In a split second, Hope's hold on the Original vampire slackens and she lets herself fall on the floor next to her aunt. The Mikaelson woman watches her niece from the corner of her eyes. Hope's eyes are tightly shut, and there's tension in her jaw. Rebekah silently watches the blue veins slowly disappearing from the tribrid's face as Hope struggles to regain total control over herself.

Penelope watches the whole process silently. She sees everything unfolding and for a moment she wonders just how much strength it must take for Hope to control herself so quickly. The differences between the tribrid and a normal vampire — even an Original — keep making the witch more and more curious.

As soon as Hope's face goes back to normal, a smug smile graces her lips, making Rebekah and Penelope both roll their eyes. Hope's smile doesn't leave her face as she gets on her feet and help her aunt up. As soon as Rebekah is on her feet, she uses their joined hands to pull Hope close to her.

"Show off." Rebekah teases in such a quiet voice that only Hope can hear her.

Hope's cheeks reddens. "Sorry..."

The Original vampire chuckles, and then opens her mouth to answer when Penelope interrupts them.

"Are all the chicks in your family this badass?" The short haired girl asks them. "Like... Damn!"

Rebekah gives the raven haired girl a proud smirk, then she looks back at her niece.

"I like this girl!" Her glance then quickly shifts back to ravenette witch "And, yes darling. We are. Thank you very much." She finishes with a sly wink.

Hope glances between her aunt and the Park witch, a slow smile forming on her face. The way Penelope seems so happy to hear the Rebekah actually likes her warms the tribrid's heart. She feels two things at once. On one side, she's happy her aunt and her friend are getting along, and on the other side... It scares her a little.

-⊰-※-⊱-

The week goes on smoothly for the tribrid. The twins fall back into her life like they never left it at all. Their whole dynamic is the same as it used to be, and Hope couldn't be more happy for that. They sit together to eat, spend time together after class and even have a sleepover or two.

Another thing that makes her week so far from devastating — as she thought it would be —, is the addition of Penelope Park into Hope's life. It comes as a welcome surprise, and a wonderful bonus to having the twins back in her life and Rebekah's presence.

As the week comes to an end, her dad's death anniversary comes, and Hope doesn't feel as sad as she did the years before. Her aunt Freya surprised her with a family meeting via astral projection. She got to see all her family in the same room, it wasn't like a real reunion... but it was good enough.

Some time during the week, Rebekah notices something that makes her curious. Hope seems to be wearing the same three outfits all the time. She asks around about it, and the twins and Penelope confirm it, Hope does in fact wear the same thing all the time. Rebekah then suggests a shopping trip to remedy that situation.

Hope doesn't immediately looks thrilled, but she quickly sees it as an opportunity to get something for Penelope. She's been wanting to find a way to show her she's grateful for their_friendship _, and now she knows exactly what to give the short haired witch. The shopping trip was the perfect opportunity to get it.

The gift she plans on getting for the witch only makes her more and more happy about the idea of going shopping. After all, that's something they used to do a lot when they were younger. Hayley and Caroline — and Rebekah, before the Hollow — would always take her and the twins on these little shopping adventures. They only stopped when Hope's mother died, but time called for new traditions.

And due to the fact that her aunt Rebekah and Penelope were getting along super well, it was no surprise when the Original demanded that the witch joined them. Safe to say Hope wasn't at all opposed to that. Despite her feelings towards the ravenette getting somehow stronger and a bit_confusing _to say the least during these last couple of days, she's happy Penelope is going to apart of their old tradition.

-⊰-※-⊱-

On Saturday morning, Hope finds herself standing next to Penelope and Lizzie in the common room as they wait for Josie. The brunette siphoner is in a corner of the room with Jade, she's been there for a lot longer than she said she'd be. The tribrid hears the conversation Penelope and Lizzie are having, but her eyes are on Josie and Jade. Hope smiles softly as she sees Josie laugh with her whole heart before leaning in and placing a lingering kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"They're so cute, it's sickening." Lizzie says as she looks at the couple with disdain.

Josie walks over to them as Jade waves her goodbye. Hope, Lizzie and Penelope wave back, all of them smiling. When Josie is close enough, Lizzie rolls her eyes and then starts walking out of the room, soon followed by the other girls.

"Took you long enough." The blonde twin says over her shoulder.

Josie shrugs. "You're the only one complaining."

"Girls, no arguing, please?" Hope says with a small smile.

The Saltzman twins exchange a glance before both of them shrug, and just like that Hope knows it's over.

Soon enough, they get to Caroline's room, where the twins' mother and Rebekah are waiting for them.

"What took you girls so long?" Rebekah asks them.

Lizzie's eyes shine. "See!"

Josie rolls her eyes, ready to snap back, but then Hope sighs loudly.

"Enough. We've been over that. Let's just go now, okay?"

Everyone nods, making Hope relax instantly.

"Darling, why don't you take the girls in your car?" Rebekah suggests with a soft smile. "I'll go with Caroline, that way we'll have room for the bags, and you guys can have a fun road trip."

"Yeah." Hope agrees, suddenly smiling. "That sounds good."

"Wait." Penelope interrupts them. "You have a car?!"

Hope's smile gets bigger, and she quickly tells Penelope to follow her. When they get to the school's garage, the tribrid shows off her 1968 Shelby GT350 Convertible. Penelope's eyes widen when she sees the car.

"Dude...! How do you even have this?" The raven haired witch asks, walking towards the car, but she quickly stops and turns back when she hears soft giggles. What she sees is Hope, Josie and Lizzie sharing a look, identical smiles on their faces.

"What?" Penelope asks with a frown.

Hope walks around the car, letting her hand stroke the smooth surface.

"It was an 18 birthday present from Uncle Kol." She starts. "But it was actually my dad's car. Uncle Kol repaired it and then gave it to me, good as new."

Realization hits the raven haired witch, and she feels stupid for even asking.

_— Oldest family in the world Penelope. Of course they'd have awesome old stuff._

Hope watches with a fond smile as the witch's eyes take every single part of her car in. She didn't think Penelope Park would be so fascinated by a car, but now that she sees it, she can't help but enjoy this part of the Park girl.

Penelope opens her mouth, and Hope waits to hear what she has to say, but then the witch closes her mouth. The tribrid watches as her _friend _bites her lip, clearly keeping herself from saying something.

_Or asking something..._

"You can drive it if you want." Hope speaks up, waiting for the short haired girl's reaction.

Penelope's head snaps in Hope's direction, her eyes wide with surprise, but still cautious.

"Really?" The ravenette asks, disbelief clear in her voice. "You sure?"

Hope nods her head and gives the witch a soft smile before saying; "So... Do you wanna drive it?"

"Yes, please!" Penelope says promptly, nodding her head excitedly.

Hope chuckles fondly at the girl's excitement.

"Enjoy it then." she says, throwing the keys over to her.

"Oh, I will." The witch gives the tribrid an genuine grateful smile. "Thank you."

Hope and Penelope jump a little when a voice adds itself to their conversation. They almost forgot they were not alone.

"Wait." Lizzie says, her eyes wide. "Hope, give me your blood."

The tribrid frowns, confusion written all over her face. "What? Why?"

"_ Satan's _driving." Lizzie states, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, but then a small smirk appears on her face. "I need insurance she doesn't kill us all."

"Oh please! As if I would risk ruining this beauty." Penelope says, pointing to the car. "Plus, I would never hurt Hope or Josie... I can't say the same about you though, _Voldemort _.'" She teases.

Hope and Josie share a look before they both start laughing at Lizzie's shocked face.

"Bitch." The blonde says before hopping in the backseat of the car.

Josie follows her even though her laughter hasn't really died down yet. Then, it's Penelope and Hope who hops in the front seats, and just like that they're ready to go.

-⊰-※-⊱-

They've been driving for a while. Chatting, singing along to music, and making jokes... But Hope realizes at some point that Josie doesn't seem to be having fun like them. She looks in the rear-view mirror, trying to subtly see what's going on with the brunette. Josie is on her phone, texting. The tribrid says nothing for a moment, looking if the siphoner will eventually stop, but she doesn't.

"Hey Jo, is it Jade you're texting?" Hope tries to ask without sounding like she's been observing her for the past minutes.

Josie quickly looks up to meet Hope's eyes. "Oh, uh, yeah."

"Why didn't she join us?" The tribrid softly asks.

The brunette looks down like she's trying to decide on what to say before looking back up.

"Jade... doesn't feel like she's ready to be around so many humans yet." Josie sighs. "She's scared something will happen and that she'll lose control."

Hope nods, immediately understanding Jade's fear and knowing where it comes from.

"I could... teach her how to control her urges if she wants."

Josie looks unsure, and she avoids the Mikaelson girl's eyes.

"Jo... I won't let her hurt anyone. If something goes wrong, I'll stop her. Even if it means compelling her."

"What?" Penelope cuts them off. "But Jade's a vampire, you can't compel her."

"I can..." The tribrid shrugs. "I'm an _original _too. It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Of course you are..." The raven haired girl chuckles as she shakes her head. "As if you weren't badass enough."

Lizzie's laugh fills the car.

"Badass? This cuddle monster here?" She says as she points at the tribrid. "Oh please... Hope is almost as soft as Josie."

The auburn haired girl rolls her eyes. She's trying her best to be annoyed at her _sister's _teasing, but the way Penelope's smiling is enough to break that fake annoyance, and soon she joins the collective giggles.

When the giggles die down, Josie speaks up. "I'll ask her when we get back then. Thank you Hopey."

The sad look on Josie's face is gone after that, instead the brunette smiles softly. She's happy Hope is willing to get to know her girlfriend. They both mean a lot to her, and it means the world that the tribrid wants to let Jade into her life.

"Of course! Besides... it'll give us an occasion to have a little talk." The tribrid says with a wink.

Josie freezes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hope looks back ahead, and then turn the music up really loud. _Life is a highway - Rascal Flatts _

"Hope!" Josie yells.

The tribrid turns around and the pout on Josie's lips makes her laugh instantly. She laughs so hard that she has to wrap her arms around her stomach.

Without knowing, the twins and Penelope share almost the same thought. They all think about how good it feels to see Hope looking like this; Happy... _free _.

Josie soon joins the tribrid's laughter. She's happy to have Hope back in her life, even if it means putting Jade through a Mikaelson shovel talk.

They spend the rest of the road trip enjoying each other's presence. The wind is blowing through their hair. The music is loud at times, and silent at other times. They talk a little, they sing a lot. Basically, it's filled with them being happy.

One thing Hope can't help but notice is how she's often taking quick glances at Penelope. She notices small things she never noticed before, and finds them incredibly _cute _and _beautiful _. Like the way her eyes seem to close a little when she smiles, or how she squints them, scrunching up her nose, when the sun it's too bright. Or the way she puts her hair behind her ear when she laughs or when the wind blows it over her face. The way the corners on her mouth quirks up into this lovely grin when they're driving through an empty road and she gets to drive a little bit faster. And she finds it incredibly hard to take her eyes away when Penelope smiles so brightly that Hope thinks she'll be blinded if she stares for too long. But she doesn't seem to care, cause the ravenette witch probably has the most gorgeous smile Hope has even seen in her life...

Sometimes, Penelope catches her looking, but it's not awkward, it's more like a complicit look. Like they're sharing something, even if Hope is a little confused as to what that something is.

From the backseat, the twins watch it all unfold. They see the looks, the blushes... They both like the way Hope's smile looks so easy around Penelope. Both of them know exactly what is going on, but they won't spell it out for the tribrid. Hope needs to figure it out herself.

It doesn't stop Lizzie and Josie from sharing a knowing look though. They'll eventually get to tease their _sister _about this.

-⊰-※-⊱-

After about two and a half hours of driving, Penelope parks the car next to Caroline's, and they all get out. The sun is shining, and the weather is perfect for shopping. Not too hot, and not cold. They don't waste time before walking into the mall. Hope's eyes immediately go to the small jewelry shop she came here for. She wants to go there first, get this out of the way and enjoy the rest of her day, but then someone's tugging on her arm.

Penelope pulls Hope in the direction of a fancy clothing store, and the tribrid quickly understands that everyone is going there. She sends one last look to the jewelry shop, sighs and then follows the short haired girl willingly.

Hope walks behind Penelope as the witch looks around with a wide smile. She should've known shopping would be something Penelope enjoys doing. The tribrid's eyes wander from time to time. She looks over at the twins, seeing them both happy to be shopping for new clothes. Caroline and Rebekah are not far from them, mostly just chatting.

Hope's eyes go back to Penelope when the witch puts some clothes in her hands.

"You should try this." The Park girl's eyes sparkles. "I bet you'd look hot."

Hope playfully rolls her eyes. "Not my style. But thanks."

It's only Penelope's first attempt to make the tribrid try some clothes though. At each flirty comment, Hope starts to realize some of the suggestions are not actually that bad. She knows she'll have to buy some clothes eventually, that's why they're here in the first place. She just can't focus on clothes right now.

She made sure to call the jewelry store in advance to pre-order her little gift for Penelope. She's now just waiting for them to call, and to be honest, she feels rather nervous about it. She wonders if her _friend _will like it not.

When Hope's phone rings and she recognizes the jewelry store's number, the tribrid quickly excuses herself to Penelope and picks up the call away from the witch. They tell her the bracelet is ready, and a big smile appears on her lips. She hangs up quickly and goes back to the short haired witch.

"Pen?" Hope says as she gets close to the girl.

Penelope turns her head and smiles at Hope. "Yeah?"

"I need to go pick up something I ordered before coming here." Penelope opens her mouth to speak, but Hope quickly beats her to it. "How about you pick some clothes for me while I'm gone? It shouldn't be long, and the clothes you picked earlier looked great."

Penelope looks at her with a pout on her lips and Hope almost gives up on leaving, but then the witch sighs.

"Fine."

Hope gives her a soft smile. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes tops. And then I'll try on whatever you chose. Promise." She pauses for a second when Penelope gives her a mischievous smirk, so she quickly adds; "Just... be reasonable."

"No promises" The witch says slyly, wiggling her eyebrows in a teasing manner.

Hope shakes her head and with one last look, she walks away.

-⊰-※-⊱-

From where she's standing with Caroline, Rebekah sees her niece leaves Penelope behind. Of course she knows why Hope is leaving, but seeing the witch alone makes the Original want to go talk to her.

"Do you mind if I-" Rebekah starts.

"Go." Caroline says with a knowing smile. "I'll go check on the twins."

The Original vampire gives a grateful smile to her friend before walking over to the short haired witch.

"My niece left you behind." Rebekah says with a teasing smile.

Penelope quickly turns around to stand face to face with the blonde woman. The teenager gives Rebekah a little smile and then shrugs.

"She said she needed to go pick something up."

Rebekah nods. "Yeah, she told me about it."

Penelope eyes suddenly catch Rebekah's purse. "Is that from the new Prada collection?! But how? They just announced it!"

The blonde woman smirks. — _I'm liking this girl more and more every second._

"It is." Rebekah says with a nod. "Well, I did had a hand in the creation of a few fashion brands, you know? Prada was one of them."

Penelope's eyes grow wide. "You what now?!"

Rebekah just shrugs. "Yeah, and it comes with some privileges." The smug smile on the woman's lips only make Penelope stare at her, impressed. "Besides... Going to the conventions is always fun."

"That's so cool!"

"Perks of living for a long time." Rebekah says, her voice sounding a little bored.

"Wait a minute. Now it makes sense..."

Rebekah frowns, suddenly confused. "What does?"

"How Lizzie and her mom always have the new stuff as soon as they're released, sometimes even before." Penelope releases a frustrated sigh. "I've been trying to make that girl spill for the last two freaking years! You've been her secret supplier all along."

Caroline appears behind Rebekah with a smirk.

"What can I say? Having a_ fossil _as your best friend comes really in handy sometimes." She winks making Penelope laugh and Rebekah fake gasp.

"You just love me for my connections..." The Original says pretending to be hurt, but there's a hint of an smile on her lips.

Caroline's smirk turns into a real smile as she scoffs. "Uh...Duh! Who else gonna get me new season stuff before public release?"

"Bitch!" Rebekah says with a matching smile.

The two women share a laugh with Penelope. The witch then silently looks at these two women with a little sad smile, as she thinks about the fact that she'll never have the kind of relationship Rebekah and Caroline seem to have with Hope and the twins with her own mother.

It doesn't take long for Rebekah to notice the sad look on the young witch's face. It suddenly dawns on her that Penelope's mother probably never took her daughter out for a shopping trip, or even to do something remotely fun. Once again, the situation the young Park girl is in breaks Rebekah's heart.

"By the way..." Rebekah says softly as she looks at Penelope. "If you want something, just let me know and I'll have it sent it over to you."

Penelope's eyes widen. "Are you serious?!"

Rebekah chuckles fondly. "Of course. It would be my pleasure."

By knowing Rebekah the way she does, and by the kind smile on her face, Caroline takes that as her cue to leave. She gives her best friend's arm a quick squeeze and sends a soft smile to the ravenette witch before leaving them alone.

Then, Rebekah remembers it's the first time Penelope is joining one of their shopping trips and still doesn't know how it works.

"Oh! By the way... the girls already know this, but since it's your first time with us..." Rebekah says while pulling her wallet out. "Here." She says handling the girl a credit card. "Today's on me."

Penelope frowns.

"Buy whatever you want. And I mean it. _Whatever _you want. Don't even bother looking at the price, if you like it, buy it."

"Wait, you're paying everyone's stuff today?" The witch asks, disbelief written all over her face.

"Yeah, that's how it works." Rebekah says nonchalantly "It took a lot of convincing for Caroline to agree with this though. She thinks I spoil the girls too much. But come on... we have more money than we could ever spend, so... why not?"

"I get why they love you so much." Penelope shakes her head, amused, "You're the best."

"I know."

After that, Penelope keeps looking for clothes. She finds a couple of pieces for herself, more than she would have normally taken since Rebekah generously offered to pay for it, but her focus is mainly on finding Hope some good looking clothes.

She's looking at a white blouse when she sees Hope coming back from the corner of her eyes.

"You'd look good in that." The auburn haired girl says with a smile.

Penelope turns her head and looks Hope in the eyes. "I was actually thinking it would look good on _you... _But since you said that, I think I'll keep it for me."

"You should definitely keep that." Hope says with a newfound bravery, Mikaelson smirk firmly in place.

To Hope's surprise, a light blush slowly appears on the witch's cheeks but quickly it leaves place to a sly smile.

Penelope can't help but feeling quite proud. — _Game on, Mikaelson._

The tribrid silently watches as Penelope reaches for a small pile of clothes and hands them to her.

"I chose these for you." The ravenette says. "Follow me."

She guides them to the back of the store, to an ample hallway where the fitting rooms are located. Penelope opens one of the fancy red curtains and gestures for Hope to go inside. Once the tribrid is inside, the witch follows suit, closing the curtain behind her. Hope quickly turns around and meets Penelope's eyes.

"You... you'll be changing in here too?" Hope asks, eyes wide, her previous confidence quickly disappearing.

"Of course." Penelope says slyly, then teasingly she raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't lose this opportunity for anything."

"You're such a flirt..." Hope says rolling her eyes, hoping that the fake annoyance would mask her nervousness.

"I know, it's part of my charm."

"It's annoying."

"Nah, you love it." Penelope says with her confident smile. "Come on now."

"Ugh... fine."

The witch quickly makes herself comfortable on the bench of the spacious fitting room and tells Hope which shirt to try with which pants. Hope grabs the pieces of clothing tightly, still very nervous at the idea of taking her clothes off in front of Penelope. Which she finds a little stupid cause she changed clothes in front of people before. She does it in front of Lizzie and Josie all the time for fucks sake. But there's something in the way Penelope looks at her. Something different. Something special.

"Can you... look away for a second?" She asks shyly, but the witch shakes her head no.

"I don't think I can." Penelope says in such a soft way that, suddenly, Hope no longer cares that she's not going to look away. The ravenette stares at her with a gentle look in her eyes. Silently encouraging Hope to go ahead.

The tribrid is a little surprised when she hears no comment as she takes her clothes off. Penelope silently waits for her to change, so Hope does. She puts the black skinny jeans and white top on, just like the witch told her. Something looks off to her though, so she quickly looks back to Penelope.

"Wait." The short haired witch says.

The tribrid follows Penelope with her eyes as the witch stands up and gets closer. The Park witch looks at Hope for a couple of seconds before she starts working. First, she rolls both of the sleeves until they're just below Hope's elbows.

"Do you mind if I...?" Penelope asks as she looks down at the waistband of Hope's pants.

Hope nods, giving Penelope her consent to continue her work, but she still avoids looking at the witch because she's a little too close right now. The raven haired girl tucks the front of Hope's white shirt into her pants, just enough to make it look good. Then, Penelope gently unties the tribrid's hair, letting the auburn locks fall freely on her shoulders. The witch takes a step back and looks at her work, and for a moment Hope thinks she's done, but then she steps closer again. Penelope undoes two buttons on the tribrid's shirt and opens it a little.

"There you go..." Penelope says with a little smile. "I knew it... You're hot in these."

Hope takes a few moments to look at herself in the huge mirror before finally allowing her eyes to meet Penelope's again. "You've got good taste, I'll give you that."

"Of course I do, how do you think I always look fabulous?" Penelope winks and they share a little laugh. The witch waits until they're both done before talking seriously again. "So... did you like it?"

"Yeah, I really do. What else you got?" Hope asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I know you love black so..." The short haired witch hands the tribrid a black piece of clothing with a smirk. "Try this, I think you'll look great."

"A crop-top? Really?" Hope asks with a amused smile. "I wonder what Lizzie would say... '_ Oh look! A tribrid in a crop-top _' "

"Idiot." Penelope chuckles "Come on, put it on. I'm curious."

Hope unbuttons the shirt and takes it off, placing it carefully into a basket before putting the loose crop-top on. And once again, she's pleasantly surprise at good it looks on her.

"Told ya." Penelope says upon seeing the pleased smile on Hope's face.

Hope gladly takes the next few outfits the witch hands her after that. To both of their pleasure, all the outfits look amazing on the tribrid. Hope is almost sad when she realizes there's only one left. She strips to her underwear once again, knowing full well Penelope's eyes are glued to her body. However, there's nothing in the ravenette's gaze that makes her uncomfortable this time. In fact, at each change of clothes she noticed it was getting easier and easier to be almost naked in front of the other girl. She takes her time to change, feeling strangely calm at the fact that Penelope is shamelessly checking her out.

At this point, Hope knows Penelope is somewhat into her, she's not stupid. She doesn't like to think too much about _that _though. What she does think about is how she can't explain to herself the sudden calm she feels, when she was so nervous earlier. She doesn't try to either.

She puts the last outfit on, a beautiful white peasant blouse and some jean shorts. When she looks herself in the mirror, a little smile stretches her lips. She loves that look, and the clothes are very comfortable.

"You should keep that on." Penelope says, her smile mirroring Hope's.

"Yeah... I think I will." The tribrid meets Penelope's eyes through the glass. "Well... your turn now, I guess."

The short haired girl's smile turns into a smirk as she stands up. Hope starts moving to go sit on the bench, but Penelope's voice quickly stops her.

"Actually... I think you'll have to stay there."

The ravenette then turns around, and Hope can't help but roll her eyes.

_— Oh great! So now she's shy?_

Soon enough, the tribrid understands just why Penelope turns around. She's actually _grateful_she did. The witch grabs the bottom of her shirt and slowly pulls it over her head to take it off, exposing her back to Hope and... as she suspected; _no bra _. And now that she comes to think of it, Penelope really doesn't look like the kind of girl to be bothered in wearing bras. In fact, Hope can't remember ever seeing her use one.

Penelope looks over her shoulder when her shirt is off, sending a quick sexy wink to Hope before taking her pants off too. Then, she reaches for a pair of fishnet tights and puts it on with a black pair of jean shorts. For the top, she decides to go with a loose black sweater. Penelope looks down at herself before deciding to slide the sweater down her shoulder to show some skin. Satisfied with her look, she turns around to face Hope.

Hope's eyes travel from Penelope's head, as she's fixing her hair, all the way down to her bare feet. Everything about the witch's look is black, her hair, her clothes and even the nails from both her hands and feet are painted black.

The tribrid gives a teasing smile to her _friend _. "What were you saying about _me _loving black again?"

"Oh well..." Penelope shrugs "What can I say? Looks good doesn't it?"

"I-It really does."

Hope hates the fact that she stuttered, but thankfully, Penelope says nothing about it. The witch turns around, quickly stripping this time. She tries a couple more outfits, each time asking for Hope's review. The tribrid doesn't say much, because she's afraid if she tries to speak, she won't be able to form words. Her mouth is dry and her pulse is racing.

— _It should be illegal for someone to look this good _. — She thinks, watching the curve of Penelope's body as she pulls off the most recent shirt. She'd feel bad for how obviously affected she is by the other woman, but frankly, Hope can't imagine anyone keeping their cool when faced with a shirtless Penelope Park.

— _She knows exactly what she's doing to me _, _and she's enjoying it _. — Hope realizes. The thought makes her heartbeat pick up even more.

A few combinations later, Penelope reaches for a pair of jean shorts that are lighter than the black ones she was previously wearing. There's two holes in them, each of them under both of the pockets, and the ravenette loves their look, especially when combined with the fishnet she decided to keep on. Penelope turns around once again. She pushes the shirt over her head, showing her naked back to Hope one more time — fully aware of the effect she's having on the older girl — and takes her time choosing what top to try on next. Her eyes ends up on a tight cropped tank top she picked up earlier.

— _Perfect — _Penelope thinks, a smile already playing on her lips as she puts it on.

Confidently, she turns her body to face the Mikaelson girl and her smile instantly turns into a sly smirk when she sees the surprised look on Hope's face.

Hope tries to play it cool but she fails. Her gaze quickly falling on the girl's chest.

The white soft, flexible fabric caresses Penelope's breasts like a second skin leaving little to the imagination. Hope's eyes widen at the sight of hardened, _pierced _nipples poking through the soft material.

—_ Oh come on! That's just not fair! Why does she have to look this fucking good?!_

The tribrid feels her heart hammering hard and fast inside her chest, and she hopes that Penelope can't hear it too, otherwise she'll never hear the end of it.

The smirk on Penelope's lips only seems to get wider the longer Hope's eyes stay on her chest, and she can't help but feel extremely satisfied with herself. She knew she'd definitely have some effect on the older girl, but this... is way more than she expected.

"My eyes are up here, Hope." She teases softly after a few amusing seconds.

Hope's face reddens and her eyes snap up so quickly she feels dizzy. The tribrid's not entirely sure if the fast movement is the real reason for her dizziness though. She swallows hard as images of Penelope's chest still flashes in her mind.

"Sorry." She mumbles, embarrassed.

Penelope chuckles softly.

"Don't be. I mean..." She waves her hand over her chest, smirk still firmly in place. "I would stare too." The witch says with a sexy look, amusement clear in her voice.

Hope's eyes were fighting a losing battle to stay on Penelope's face, before she gives up and let them drop to the witch's amazing body practically on display. Penelope's chest draws Hope's attention like a magnet. The tribrid finds herself unable to take her eyes from it, making her heart race and her mouth go suddenly as dry as desert.

— _Damn... I should get mine pierced too. — _She muses, her mind going into dangerous places, but finding herself powerless to stop it.

But then — god knows how long later — Penelope's _beautiful _chuckle shakes her out of whatever trance she was in.

"You totally should." Penelope says, not even trying to hide the overjoyed tone in her voice. "Fair warning though; It hurts like a bitch."

"Shit!" Blood rushes to Hope's face as quickly as her eyes shoot up once again. She feels like digging herself into a hole. — _I didn't mean to say that out loud!_

"I-I'm sorry!" Her eyes meet Penelope's mischievous — and _stunning _— hazel ones, and the sly smile on her face momentarily steals all the air from Hope's lungs.

— _What the bloody hell is happening to me?!_

Penelope just shrugs before she gently gets Hope to move from in front of the mirror. She sways her body softly while checking herself out on the mirror in front of her. She stands there totally at ease — as if she wasn't wearing an almost see through top —, feeling proud and confident as ever. A permanent smile on her face as Hope's eyes follow her every move.

"Can... can you please change?" Hope stumbles over her words, her heart feeling like it's trying to jump out of her chest.

Penelope takes a step forward and Hope takes one back, making the witch raise an eyebrow.

"But I thought you were enjoying the view..." She teases.

Hope is avoiding her eyes, and honestly, Penelope is absolutely loving how adorably shy Hope looks right now and how she's able to drag this sort of reaction out of the tribrid.

Hope's emotions makes her features change, and it seriously makes Penelope happy to see she can cause the auburn haired girl to get this flustered. It warms her heart to see the tribrid being affected to this point, and she can't deny the fluttery feeling in her stomach at seeing Hope like this.

Penelope's hazel eyes shine in delight at seeing how Hope's face is covered by this adorable shade of pink, quickly getting red as she keeps on blushing. How she keeps trying to look away, but her blue eyes always end up meeting hers again. Or how her mouth opens several times but no words comes out.

Every little detail enthralling her to the point where she finds herself falling even more for the auburn haired girl.

"Am I distracting you?" Penelope teases again, her voice coming out way softer this time.

Hope's feels more blood rushing to her face, making her blush get even darker.

"Y-yes." She mumbles.

"Why?" Penelope asks _innocently _while batting her eyelashes, but Hope can clearly hear the teasing tone to her voice.

The Mikaelson girl gives the witch a pleading look, but Penelope only raises an — _annoyingly perfect _— eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"You know why." Hope pleads, but the raven haired girl's not having it.

The Park girl takes a small step closer to the tribrid, and Hope takes another one back.

"Penelope..." Hope whines. "You know you're _hot..."_

"Do I, now?" It takes an weirdly amount of will power for Penelope to play it cool and not show the effect those words had on her. Instead, she looks deep into those ocean eyes, crooking her head slightly to the side, urging the girl to properly answer her question.

"You know you are." Hope insists, the deafening thumping of her heart not allowing her to notice how Penelope's heartbeats also races. "So why do you need me to say it?"

_"Oh! _So you think I'm hot." The witch teases.

Another step closer. Another one back.

"That- That's not what I said." Hope says, feeling trapped.

A fake gasp leaves Penelope's lips, and she places her hand over her heart, making Hope's eyes flicker to her chest once more. She quickly catches herself though and looks back into the ravenette's eyes.

"No?" She says, her lips making a pout she clearly learned from Josie.

She didn't know it was even possible, but somehow, Hope thinks that Penelope's pout looks even cuter than Josie's... — _Oh god... Kill me now!_

"Okay!" Hope relents, trying to prevent the raven haired girl from taking another step closer.

Penelope looks at her, her hazel eyes shining in expectation.

"You- You're _hot _okay? You're _infuriatingly hot _, Penelope." She finally confesses, feeling like her face is on fire. "Happy?"

Penelope indeed gives her a happy smile while nodding her head.

"That's all I wanted to hear." She winks, before taking a few steps back

"Can you _please _change now?" Hope begs once she feels like she can breath again. "Like... _Pretty please _?"

The witch can't help but giggle, totally amazed. "Well... Since you asked so nicely, of course."

She turns back around and pushes the top over her head. She folds it carefully and places it on her own basket, adding to the small pile of clothes.

— _I'm definitely buying that. Thank you, Rebekah!_

Penelope takes off her shorts and tries a short blue dress next, but she can't reach the zipper in the back.

"Zip me up?" The raven haired girl asks sweetly.

Hope sighs, already knowing it's probably a bad idea, but still doing it. The tribrid almost curses when her fingers brush Penelope's skin. She's so focused on her own goosebumps, that she doesn't even notice the shiver running down the witch's back.

A "wow" escapes Hope's mouth when Penelope turns around to face her. She looks absolutely gorgeous.

— _Why does everything about her looks beautiful to me now?!_

The Mikaelson girl tries to shake those thoughts out of her head but they keep coming. At some point, she finds herself imagining how it would feel like to actually date Penelope Park. When she realizes this, she quickly scolds herself.

— _It cannot happen Hope. You already got her as your friend. That's good enough. That's dangerous enough. That's scary enough..._

But she can't help it. As soon as Penelope's eyes meet hers, Hope speaks again.

"You look amazing!"

"Oh wow!" This time, Penelope can't totally play it cool and her eyes grow a little wide. "_ Another _compliment?! Must be my lucky day... I'm seriously flattered." Despite trying to be her teasing self, her voice comes out sweet, and Penelope finds herself swooning inside.

—_ This girl is gonna be the death of me... _— _She _thinks. — _When did I became this mess?! Ugh! Get it together Penelope! Who am I kidding?! I'm so fucking whipped..._

Penelope takes a quick look at the price tag, biting her lip when she sees the numbers on it.

"Isn't it too expensive though?"

Hope doesn't even bother to look at the price. "You like it, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

"Then it's not too expensive." Hope says softly, before playfully adding "Besides, If you return this, I think auntie Bex might kill you."

Realization quickly crosses Hope's face as she takes Penelope's outfit in. The bracelet would complement it perfectly, but suddenly she feels nervous all over again.

Hope takes a deep breath. "I... huh- I got you something."

The tribrid says that shyly while glancing a the small bag sitting on the bench. Penelope follows Hope's gaze, her eyes falling on the little bag too. Curiosity quickly seeping into her as she sees the Mikaelson girl reach her hand and then an even smaller velvet bag comes flying to her hand. Hope takes a step closer, looking down at the bag in her hand, deep in her thoughts. It takes her a couple of seconds to look up again and hand the bag to the ravenette.

Penelope takes the bag in her hands delicately. At first, she just holds it, but then the curiosity comes crashing back into her and she looks right back into Hope's eyes. The tribrid understands the silent question immediately and offers a nod in answer. It's all the witch needed to open the small velvet bag in her hand. She empties the bag's content in her hand, her eyes widening a little as she sees a small bracelet.

The bracelet seems to be made of little silver leaves all entwined together to form a delicate and simple piece of jewelry.

Hope can't take her eyes off of Penelope since the ravenette's eyes are literally shining as she's looking at the bracelet.

Penelope quickly looks up. "Could you put it one me?"

Hope nods, getting even closer to the Park girl. The tribrid tries to swallow down her nervousness, but it's no use. She takes the small bracelet and puts it around Penelope's wrist. Everything goes right until Hope has to clasp it, that's when her hands start to shake. At first she mentally yells at herself to just _stop _shaking, but it doesn't work. Penelope says nothing, she patiently waits with a small and soft smile on her lips.

Hope finally clasps the bracelet and lets out a relieved sigh. She watches as Penelope's eyes are still glued to it.

"Do you like it?" The Mikaelson girl softly asks, trying her best to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Penelope's eyes snap up to meet Hope's. "Hope... It's beautiful, I love it."

Hope finally smiles too. "Yeah?"

The raven haired girl nods, looking back at the bracelet. The longer she looks at it — studying every little detail —, the more she thinks she already saw it before. It takes a few seconds for her to remember exactly where.

"Looks like the one Josie wears." She finally says.

"That's 'cause it's the same one..." Hope replies, smiling shyly. "I gave the twins this same bracelet a few years ago."

Hope almost chuckles as a cute little frown appears on Penelope's face.

"Lizzie has one too? How come I never saw it before?"

The tribrid's smile turns into a teasing smirk. "Do you often look at her feet?"

Hope's teasing just seems to confuse Penelope even more.

"What?" She asks, baffled. "Why would I look at her feet?"

"Lizzie wear hers around her ankle." The Mikaelson girl finally explains when she's done chuckling.

"Oh right... that makes sense." Penelope lets her fingers run over the silver bracelet, and soon curiosity gets the best of her again. "Why are you giving me the same one?"

Hope's smile falters a little. Deep down she knew her gift would prompt some questions, but she honestly isn't all that well prepared to answer them. Still, the tribrid takes a deep breath before giving an explanation.

"Josie and Lizzie mean the world to me, you know that." Penelope nods, so Hope keeps speaking. "I wanted to, I don't know... give them something to show that. A little something for them to know how important they are to me and to protect them."

Hope points the bracelet around the raven haired witch's wrist.

"I put a spell on their bracelets. It serves as a link to me. Well, more exactly to my magic. I wanted to make sure they would always have a big source of magic whenever they need one."

The words take no time to sink in for Penelope, and soon enough there's a soft smile on her face.

"That's so thoughtful of you... and beautiful."

Hope shrugs, avoiding the witch's eyes.

"They're my family." She gives as a simple explanation. "Anyway... I'm giving you _this _with the same purpose."

Penelope reaches for both of Hope's hands and holds them, gently getting them closer than they previously were. She chases the tribrid's eyes, wanting her next words to really have the desired impact on Hope.

"You're really amazing, you know that, right?" Penelope says softly before pulling Hope into a tight hug.

It takes a couple of seconds for Hope to reciprocate the hug. During this time, it's just Penelope holding onto the tribrid with a surprising strength, her fist balling into the blouse Hope is wearing. The Mikaelson girl hesitates a little to return the hug, to let herself be even more vulnerable than she already is. But then, she lifts her hands and places them on the witch's back. Penelope lets out a relieved sigh, her head resting on the tribrid's shoulder. Hope's body starts to let go of all its tension as she allows herself to return the hug, and eventually, melt into it.

No matter how much Hope tries to keep certain thoughts out of her mind, it doesn't work. They keep coming nonetheless, and she can't get rid of the realization that, being here; In Penelope's arms, is where she belongs.

— '_I'm giving you this with the same purpose_.' Hope's words echo in Penelope's head

"Wait a minute. Are you saying..."

Hope ponders her next move for a couple of seconds, but not enough for Penelope to start talking again. She takes a deep breath before leaving a soft kiss in the juncture between Penelope's neck and shoulder.

— ' _You're important to me too.' _Goes unsaid, but both of them understand the meaning behind the kiss.

Penelope feels a shiver running down her body at the contact of Hope's lips to her skin. For a quick moment it even makes her knees weak, and she's not even mentioning the way her heart is going crazy.

"Thank you." She whispers into Hope's ear. Never letting go of her.

They get lost in each other's embrace. None of them wanting to let go, and seeing no reason to.

Until Lizzie's voice is heard calling for Hope.

The Mikaelson girl sighs, and reluctantly lets go of Penelope. The witch allows Hope to pull back, only because Lizzie's voice is getting closer. Otherwise, she's not sure she would've ever let go of Hope.

The tribrid gives her _friend _a sorry smile before turning around and opening the curtain just enough to poke her head outside.

"Hope! Finally." Lizzie groans "I've been looking everywhere for you. This store is huge." She complains playfully, letting out a exasperated sigh, before pointing to another changing stall at the very end of the hallway.. "Go there, Josie's waiting for you with a dress we found that's gonna look perfect on you."

Hope opens her mouth, but then quickly closes it again. She sighs and glances back at Penelope. The witch gives her a shrug and smile, and the tribrid understands that she should go.

Hope looks back at Lizzie. "Where is Josie?"

"There!" Lizzie points to the stall again. "Go ahead, I'll join you soon."

"Yes ma'am."

As soon as Hope is gone, Penelope replaces her at the curtain. She quickly looks down at Lizzie's feet. The bracelet is there, just like Hope said it would be. The witch looks back up, and she sees the frown on the blonde's face. Penelope doesn't dwell on that, instead she focuses herself back on her own bracelet. They're really identical. Lizzie's chuckle makes Penelope look right back up, giving the siphoner a glare. The blonde girl only replies with a knowing smirk.

"Shut up, Saltzman."

Lizzie's previous light chuckles are quickly replaced by a full blown laugh. It attracts some attention, mainly Hope's, who pokes her head out of the fitting room she's in with Josie.

"What is going on?" The tribrid asks.

Instead of replying, Penelope closes the curtain behind her, hiding herself and making Lizzie roll her eyes. Hope frowns, confused by what is happening, but she decides to let it go.

"Liz, you're coming?"

The blonde girl nods. "Coming!"

She joins her _sisters _in the fitting room, leaving Penelope alone in her own.

Unbeknownst to them all, Rebekah has been watching the little scene from afar. As soon as Lizzie leaves, the Mikaelson woman heads to Penelope's changing stall. Just as she's getting there, the Park girl steps out, looking clearly distracted, 'cause she's still barefoot and wearing the dress she tried on with Hope. Her eyes are still glued to the bracelet. She's so touched and amazed by it that she can't tear her eyes from it.

In fact, she's _so _distracted by it that she nearly collides into Rebekah. It's only stopped by the Original putting her hands on the ravenette's shoulders. Penelope quickly looks up at the woman, a blush covering her cheeks.

"You look beautiful, darling." Rebekah says fondly after taking a quick glance at her dress.

"Thanks..." Penelope says quietly while mindlessly placing a few strands of her raven hair behind her ear, and once again her gaze falls to her wrist.

Rebekah's eyes follow Penelope's and soon fall on the bracelet too.

"That surely brings back some memories..." Rebekah says cryptically.

Penelope's gaze shift from her bracelet for the first time since Hope gave it to her and she looks at the blonde vampire, curiosity getting the best of her.

"What do you mean?"

"Your bracelet." Rebekah says simply, just making Penelope more confused.

Then it hits her. "Oh... It's the same one she gave the twins, isn't it?"

Rebekah nods, a sweet smile on her lips.

"A couple of years ago, Hope made Hayley go to every single jewelry store in this town. She was after the perfect gift for the twins. I stayed on the phone with her all day. She was just so determined." Rebekah chuckles at the memory. "She wouldn't even let my sister help with the spell she put on their bracelets, she wanted to do it on her own. And being the smart-ass she is, it was no surprise when she actually came up with the perfect spell..."

Rebekah takes the time to place Penelope's hair just like it should be, making sure it's true to how the Park girl usually have it. She looks down at the raven haired girl, fondness written all over her face.

"Even though she won't say it, you must be _really _special if she gave you the same gift."

A wide smile brightens up Penelope's face, a smile she definitely can't hide, and doesn't really want to. But suddenly she gets a concerning thought that makes her smile disappear, giving place to a rather panicked expression.

"Shit!" She curses as her eyes go wide. "You don't think she also sees me as a sister, do you?"

The panic in the girls voice makes Rebekah's heart flutter. — _This girl is so gone for my niece._

The Original's amused smile doesn't help Penelope regain her calm. However — God knows how —, she manages to concentrate just enough to place a quick silencing spell around them.

"Please tell me she doesn't see me as a sister." she pleads.

Rebekah can't help the loud laugh that escapes her then, because this girl can't be serious. But, when she calms down enough to get a good look at Penelope, she understands that the ravenette is totally serious. Penelope's eyes are wide and worried, and it makes Rebekah's laugh die.

"Oh..." The Original vampire lets out. "You were serious... I don't think you should worry about that love."

Penelope doesn't seem to find this comforting at all. "But-"

Rebekah quickly cuts her off. "Trust me, darling. I know my niece."

The raven haired girl opens her mouth to say something, but she gets cut off when the twins' mother calls out to Rebekah, asking the Mikaelson woman to join her. Rebekah quickly tells her she'll be there soon before focusing her attention back to the teenager in front of her.

"You have nothing to worry about." The blonde woman says kindly, but then she shakes her head. "Well, I shouldn't say '_ nothing _'..." She mutters, more to herself than to Penelope, before adding; "You'll just have to be patient with her."

The Mikaelson woman's words make Penelope's head spin. She wishes Rebekah would have given her more details, more advices, but then she quickly says goodbye and goes to join Caroline. Penelope is left there, alone and a little confused.

Penelope sighs and decides now is not the time to dwell on that. She looks at herself in the mirror once again, and it makes her remember she has to change into her own clothes again. She then thinks about how hot it is slowly getting outside, so she goes inside the fitting stall again and changes into a lighter outfit. When she's sure it fits her well, she rips the price tags and places them with her clothes to pay for them too. She takes all her clothes, and Hope's, before getting out of the stall.

It doesn't take long for the twins and Hope to get out too. The tribrid immediately walks to the raven haired girl, taking her clothes and Penelope's in her hands. Just as Rebekah and Caroline join them, Hope's stomach growls, making everyone's eyes turn to the tribrid.

"Why don't you girls go find something to eat while we pay?" Caroline suggests.

Everyone quickly agrees, and the girls give their clothes to the two women. Penelope goes to Rebekah soon after that, handing her the credit card she was given earlier. The Mikaelson woman quickly refuses, shaking her head.

"Darling, this was just the first store." Rebekah raises an eyebrow, an amused grin playing on her lips. "We still have a lot of shopping to do."

"Oh... Okay." Penelope says. "Thank you again."

Then she puts the card back into her pocket, offering a thankful smile to the Mikaelson woman before following Hope, Lizzie and Josie out of the store, heading to the food court.

After they ate, the girls spend the remaining of the day shopping. They're having so much fun that none of them realizes how late it is until Caroline mentions it, so Rebekah quickly suggests they spend the night at a hotel.

Caroline takes one room with the twins while Rebekah, Hope and Penelope share the other. As soon as they get into the room, Rebekah claims the shower. It leaves Hope and Penelope to have small talk as they wait for their turn. When the Mikaelson woman gets out, it's Penelope's turn. Hope watches her get into the bathroom, unable to look away. Rebekah says nothing, but she knows all too well what is going on.

It gets even more obvious when Penelope steps out of the bathroom in her brand new pajamas. She looks so good that Hope's eyes are literally glued on her, well until her aunt Rebekah gives her a little push and tells her to go shower too. The tribrid grabs her own pajamas, disappearing into the bathroom with a darkening blush.

Hope decides to make her shower quick, wanting to spend more time with her ravenette _friend _. When she gets out of the shower, Rebekah seems to already be asleep. The tribrid always wondered how she could fall asleep so quickly. Then, it dawns on her that her aunt took one of the beds, and she's taking all the space on it, meaning Hope will have to share the other bed with her _friend _. But it's not like she wasn't expecting this to happen.

"Uh..." Hope starts to speak while laying on the bed.

She's about to ask if it would be okay for her to cuddle into Penelope, but she decides against it, so she just shakes her head, the words dying in her throat. Hope knows that her _friend _is somewhat into her, and she doesn't want to make her uncomfortable so the tribrid sits on the bed while keeping a safe distance from the ravenette, but she makes sure to face Penelope.

The raven haired girl watches as Hope lays down, but she doesn't like how _far _she is.

"Why are you there?" She asks with a cute frown.

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Penelope moves a little closer. She gently puts her hands around Hope's waist before pulling her closer, only for the tribrid to resist. The witch can't stop the pout that forms on her lips.

"Come here..." she says softly.

Just like that, Hope's resistance falls and she allows herself to be pulled closer to Penelope. —_Well... I tried. _— Once she's close enough, she wastes no time to cuddle into the witch's side.

"That's it. That's better." Penelope says, then playfully she adds; "For a second I thought_Voldemort _was wrong and you weren't as much of a cuddle monster as she claimed you to be."

Once again, Hope finds herself blushing. — _Seriously, what is happening to me?! _— Despite that, she snuggles a little deeper into Penelope before muttering bashfully; "Shut up."

Penelope's fingers softly play with Hope's auburn locks, and they lay in comfortable silence. The witch's touch is slowly making the tribrid feel safe, at ease. Hope sighs, and buries her face against Penelope, letting the warm feeling wash over her for as long as she can, but soon her thoughts catch up to her, and she can't help but open her mouth and disrupt the silence of the room.

"Pen... why do you call Lizzie _Voldemort _?" She asks, lifting her head just enough to meet the witch's eyes.

"Because, Voldemort is the '_ dark lord _'." Penelope states, sounding like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "She calls me _Satan_, so I thought it was appropriate."

"Oh... So he's what, a villain?"

"You can't be serious." Penelope says, totally shocked.

Hope just looks at the raven haired girl with a confused frown. She feels like she has to explain herself.

"I know it's from Harry Potter, I just... never read it." Hope says sheepishly, already fearing the girl's reaction.

"You what?!" Penelope exclaims.

She is looking at Hope, mortified. — The tribrid at least has the decency to look ashamed. — The raven haired witch then shakes her head in disappointment before adding;

"You know... I wish I was drinking something right now so I could do a spit take."

Hope can feel herself blushing under Penelope's incredulous gaze.

"I mean... Josie and Lizzie were always talking about it when we were younger but... I never actually read it or watched any of the films. Or if I did I don't think i've paid any attention to it..."

Hope is trying to defend herself, but she realizes she's probably doing a very poor job when Penelope rolls her eyes.

"Oh my god... I cannot believe this!" Penelope deadpans. "Honestly... I feel personally attacked."

"Why?! Come on! It's not that bad..." The tribrid tries to reason with her friend, but she only receives a glare, which makes her flinch inside. "Is it?"

"Yes!" The witch says back. "It's terrible, Hope!"

"I uh..." Hope sighs and then she pouts shyly at the witch.. "Sorry?"

"Uh-uh, sorry is not enough. This Is absolutely unacceptable and I refuse to let it stand. Next weekend we're doing a Harry Potter marathon." Penelope says decisively, leaving no place to argue.

"Okay." Hope says with no intention to argue.

It doesn't take long after that for the Mikaelson girl to surrender herself to sleep. As Penelope's fingers keep softly playing with her hair, Hope feels her eyes closing and for once she doesn't feel like fighting it.

The morning after, Hope realizes she had no nightmares that night, something that only ever happened when her _sisters _would hold her through the night. Apparently, Penelope seems to have the same effect on her, maybe even better. It's the most peaceful night she had in a very long time.

-⊰-※-⊱-

They get back to the Salvatore Boarding school on Sunday night. Hope immediately asks Caroline if she can wolf out, desperately needing to let her wolf out a little. The vampire woman quickly goes to check if the woods are clear before telling the tribrid she can go. Hope quickly excuses herself before leaving Penelope with her aunt in her room, knowing she'll find them still there later that night.

Caroline then comes back to the room a few moments later to drop a few blood bags, knowing her best friend must be hungry and that Hope will most likely be needing it after her run too.

Soon after the headmistress leave the room, Rebekah takes her blood bag and starts sipping on it. Penelope watches the woman silently for a while, but a question is burning her mind.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking. How did you and Caroline became friends?" The ravenette tentatively asks.

Rebekah stops drinking, and looks at the teenager with a little smile.

"Oh, that's a good story. Why do you ask?"

Penelope shrugs. "I saw how close you are to her, and especially to Lizzie and Jojo. I'm just curious I guess."

Rebekah hums as memories start to flood her mind.

"We actually hated each other when we first met." She softly recalls. "It was only many years later that we got close. You see, when she found out she was magically pregnant, she panicked and went looking for my brother Niklaus. The way she was acting reminded me of when Hayley was pregnant with Hope, and just like with her, I felt compelled to help Caroline."

The Original vampire's soft smile doesn't go unseen, and Penelope soon smiles too. It's obvious Rebekah has good memories of this time.

"We started from there. But, sometime after Stefan and Camille died, she and Klaus started seeing each other, and we got even closer. Then, life got in the way and it was her turn to help me and my siblings. I must say, I was really impressed that she actually did help us. We didn't deserve it, me and my family have done terrible things over the years..."

"What changed?" The raven haired girl dares to ask.

Rebekah looks the young girl in the eyes, her smile getting bigger than before.

"Hope." She pauses before she keeps speaking. "You probably don't know this, but Hope was born pretty much in the middle of a war. She wasn't safe. So Hayley and Klaus gave her to me for me to keep her safe while they had everyone believing she was dead."

Rebekah takes a shuddering breath, emotions getting the best of her.

"I always wanted to have a child of my own, so... yeah, for a while she was mine. And I loved every second of it."

Penelope's eyes fill with understanding. "Oh..."

"Yeah, there's a reason why her name is 'Hope'. She was our hope of redemption, our hope of happiness. She's the reason why Caroline decided to give me a chance. She's the best thing that has ever happened to my family in a thousand years..."

The Mikaelson woman clears her throat. "But as I was saying; When the twins were 5 years old, Caroline came to us asking for help."

"The Merge?"

Rebekah nods. "Yes. At that point we were already close friends and I had grown too attached to the twins, and so did the rest of our family. Naturally we agreed in helping her find a cure. When she wasn't traveling with me, she was with Klaus, while everyone else looked in every single grimoire they had collected over the centuries. And then the Hollow happened... and we were forced to leave Hope. For a few years she only had her mom, Freya, Caroline and the twins around. And I couldn't have been more grateful of Caroline."

The softness in Rebekah's smile reappears, making Penelope almost sigh in relief. But then, there's sadness again, a faraway sadness.

"It was hard on Hope though..." She sighs. "We were forced apart a few times before, but never for that long. That sure left some marks on her. We all did our best to keep in contact though."

"I imagine it was hard for you too." The ravenette says.

"It was..." Rebekah lets a bittersweet chuckle out. "I've been around for a long time, went through a lot of pain, but... Those years we had to stay away from Hope were by far the worst years of my life."

She takes a sip from her blood bag before looking back at Penelope.

"But there was nothing we could do about it, so I kept traveling, and when she wasn't with Klaus, Caroline would often join me. She never stayed too long, she had her daughters, and now Hope to look over, but she would always go back with lots of gifts for the girls."

Penelope smiles and nods, prompting Rebekah to keep talking.

"Then, years later, Hayley died. Klaus and Elijah did too, not even a week later." She takes a deep breath. "I think in all these years that i've been on this earth, I never felt so useless. My niece was suffering and I couldn't help her. When she called me, crying, my heart broke. All I wanted was to hold her in my arms and make sure she would never feel any kind of pain again."

Penelope sighs. "I know the feeling..."

Rebekah gets a small teasing smile on her lips. "Do you now?"

The Park girl nods. "I felt the same thing when that Salazar guy attacked us and said all of those things to her. It was like I could _feel _her pain and all I wanted was to make it stop."

The teasing smile on the older woman's face quickly leaves place to a fond one.

"You really like her, don't you?"

Penelope stops breathing for a second. It's the truth, she knows it and Rebekah does too, so she decides to be brave and admit it.

"I do."

Rebekah nods, getting a pensive look on her face. Then, she slowly leans closer to the raven haired girl, as if to tell her a secret.

"Let me tell you something about us Mikaelson woman; We are stubborn."

Penelope rolls her eyes with a smirk. "I noticed that."

Rebekah remains serious. "We love way too intensely. That's why we guard our hearts with everything we've got. 'Cause we know once we give it away, there's no going back."

"What do you mean?" The Park witch asks with a frown.

"I met my husband Marcel a _long _time ago, and I fell in love with him then. But it took centuries and a lot of pain and hardship for us to be together. He met other people, fell in love... And I did too, but I was never able to love anyone the way I loved him. 'Cause my heart was always his."

"Oh... okay."

"Hope is no different." The blonde woman explains. "She's extra stubborn, 'cause she's had her heart broken before."

"Roman, right?"

Rebekah's face hardens as she hears the boy's name.

"Yeah, she was just starting to fall in love with him when... you know." She sighs, the memory still being a little too painful. "Anyway, the only reason why I'm telling you all of this is because she has trouble letting people in."

"I know..." Penelope says with a nod.

"Good." She pauses, but there's still more she needs to tell this girl. "What I'm trying to say is; She's got a tough past. She's been through a lot. More than any person at her age should, so she has her walls up." Rebekah smiles one more time. "But that don't seem to be a problem for you..."

Realization dawns on Penelope. "That's why you told me to be patient."

Rebekah nods. "Just remember; she might try to push you away or tell you that she is fine when she isn't. Don't let her. Be there for her. Make her know that you're not just going to walk away when things get tough. If she tries to shove you away, you shove her back."

"That's what I've been doing." The witch says. "We're making good progress."

"I noticed, and I'm happy she has you in her life now."

Penelope smiles, her heart swelling with happiness. "Thanks... I'm happy to have her too."

Rebekah smiles back, before she bites her lip, hesitating on her next words.

"Let me tell you one more thing; When a Mikaelson falls in love... it is _Always and Forever _." She pauses, making sure the words sink into the teenager's head. "In other words, as long as you don't leave her or whatever, she'll be yours."

Both Rebekah and Penelope jump when suddenly the door opens. They look as Hope makes her way inside, her hair a little out of place, but with the widest smile Penelope has ever seen on her. Neither realized that during their talk, time flew by. It was kinda late now, the sun has been down for hours. When the Original vampire suggests that Penelope stays the night, no one protests.

After a much needed shower, the tribrid steps into her room once again. This time, Hope settles comfortably in her bed. She snuggles against Penelope without hesitation, hoping she'd get a repetition of the night they spent at the hotel. A peaceful night of sleep in Penelope's safe arms sounds good to the tribrid right now. The ravenette never protests, never says a thing. She holds the Mikaelson girl close, burying her nose in Hope's freshly washed hair. Both of them fall asleep thinking they could definitely get used to this.

The next morning, Rebekah wakes up before them. It's obvious to see that the two girls moved during the night, because, now Penelope is being Hope's little spoon. She watches them with a fond smile for a moment, before a wicked grin takes over. She quickly grabs her phone and snaps a picture.

A little bit after breakfast, the Original vampire announces that she has to go, to everyone's disappointment. She goes to gather her things in her niece's room, and she's not surprised to find Caroline, Lizzie, Josie, Hope and Penelope waiting for her in the common. They all look a little sad, and it quickly gets her emotional.

"Oh come on now, don't make me cry."

"The big bad Original would cry because she has to leave?" Penelope tries to tease Rebekah.

Rebekah glares at her, and she's about to say something back when something else comes to her mind.

She takes her phone out. "You better behave, or I'm posting this."

Rebekah shows the picture she took that morning of Hope spooning Penelope, and she can't stop her smug smile when she sees the raven haired girl looking totally mortified.

"You wouldn't dare!" Penelope says with her eyes wide.

"No?" Rebekah says teasingly. "You're sure about that?"

Penelope quickly turns to look at the tribrid, hoping to get some help from her.

"Hope! Help me here, please?!" She begs, for the first time, looking embarrassed.

Hope's face gets solemn. "Penelope, she has baby pictures of me. In the bath. I'm not getting involved."

Rebekah smiles proudly at her niece.

"Smart girl." She says with a wink.

"Traitor." Penelope mutters.

Hope only laughs, getting a soft smile out of her aunt. Rebekah loves seeing her niece like that. She loves that Penelope makes her happy... free.

When Hope goes to sleep that night, she can't help but feel utterly alone in her way-too-big-for-her bed. It's the first time in two days she sleeps alone, and she's not enjoying it. At all. She misses having Penelope by her side, misses the other girl's warmth and safe embrace. It takes her hours to actually fall asleep, and her sleeps isn't nearly as peaceful as it were the nights before.

-⊰-※-⊱-


	8. Intro: Serendipity

Five days.

It's been five days since Hope had a good night of sleep. It seems her body got used to sleeping next to Penelope rather quickly, and now that she's alone again, Hope is left with nightmares and restless nights.

Her feelings for Penelope Park only seem to grow stronger everyday. The tribrid feels like it's too intense, too quick, too scary. She won't allow herself to accept those growing feelings… she can't accept them. It would mean letting herself fall in love, and that is way too risky. Falling means that she could get hurt, and she's been hurt one too many times in her life. If she can avoid pain, she will try her best to.

That's exactly why she spends the whole week _trying _to avoid Penelope. She spends lots of time with the twins, preferably in their room. It's also partly because now that her relationship with her sisters has been restored, Hope is excited to spend time with them.

— _Two birds, one stone... right? _

The thing is… Penelope doesn't want to be avoided.

The witch never misses one of their training sessions. Her punches always followed by a flirty comment that makes Hope's cheeks turn red. But as soon as the session is over, the tribrid disappears with just a quick goodbye.

She sits down next to the tribrid in every class they share, much to Hope's _dismay _. She passes notes to Hope during class, and at first Hope tries to ignore them. She even glares at Penelope when her desk is covered with tiny pieces of paper, but the witch insists that she at least opens one of them. When Hope does, her heart melts.

And it doesn't stop there. Lots of other little notes keep magically appearing in her notebook while she tries to take notes. At one point she just gives up and plays along. The content smile on Penelope's face is well worth it.

— _ I should be avoiding her. Why can't I avoid her?! _

The week goes on like that — Hope doing her best to avoid Penelope, and Penelope doing her best to not be avoided.

When Hope says that she'll spend time with her _sisters _, Penelope appears at the twin's door, claiming she wants to spend time with Josie too. They end up all hanging out together, and Hope's attempt gets blown out of the picture when she ends up being cuddled by both girls as they watch a movie.

She's way too aware of how Penelope gently lets her fingers run up and down her forearm during the whole film, leaving goosebumps in its path. Hope does her best to not move, partly because this is a situation she's trying to avoid… and partly — _mostly — _ because she really doesn't want Penelope to stop.

The raven haired witch even joins when she's spending time with Lizzie. Although, what is more surprising, is that the blonde doesn't even complain. Hope knows they like to pretend not to like each other, but this is ridiculous. They actually look like best friends.

What is definitely not surprising, is when Hope finds herself laughing along with Penelope and thoroughly enjoying her presence, as she always does nowadays. And then she catches herself and closes off again — going back to short, evasive answers. Just for the same cycle to repeat itself over and over again.

As for Penelope, she does her best to pretend that the fact Hope is subtly trying to push her away isn't hurting her. She even tries to act like she doesn't even notice it, but she does. It hurts her even more than she thought it would. But she's not about to give up now. It's too late for that now. She couldn't give up even if she wanted to.

So, when she notices Hope is not coming to the dining room anymore, Penelope shows up to her door with a tray full of food she knows the tribrid loves. When Hope opens the door, Penelope quickly walks in. She sees Hope is about to protest, but Penelope quickly offers the food with a hopeful smile. The Mikaelson girl ends up giving her a small smile in return — how could she not —, in a silent way to accept the witch's presence in her room.

As Friday night finally comes, so does the movie marathon she promised to have with Penelope. Hope would've been lying if she said she wasn't an anxious mess about this whole thing. And to be fair, she has pondered — several times — if she should've just canceled, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She's a Mikaelson after all, and a Mikaelson always keeps their promises. That, however, doesn't mean that she's less nervous about it.

Nervousness gets the best out of Hope. She takes out her phone — deciding to text her _friend _and ask if they could reschedule to another weekend. One where she wasn't feeling like an emotional mess about an impending _crush _that she couldn't let herself accept, would be nice.

But of course, before she even has the time to come up with some excuse — as if on cue —, there's a knock on her door.

— _Too late. _— Hope moves to open the door, putting the phone back in her pocket. — _I can do this... I can do this. _

As soon as her eyes land on Penelope standing at the other side, all of her plans of ghosting the girl go flying right out of the window. The raven-haired girl has such a genuine look of excitement in her eyes and such a beautiful smile adorning her lips that Hope can't possibly stop herself when she quickly returns the smile and steps to the side.

— _You know what? Screw this! Might as well enjoy my night, because I clearly can not avoid her. _— Hope then makes her way back to her bed to join Penelope who's already lying comfortably on it while setting the first movie up on the TV.

And... that's how they find themselves here:

Penelope is silently watching as Hope's eyes are fixed on the screen — Currently playing _Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban —, _amazed by everything that's happening in it.

The raven-haired girl still can't believe this is the first time that Hope is watching Harry Potter. The girl is literally a witch... and a werewolf… and a vampire…

— _Oh my god... How the hell did she have never watched or read Harry Potter before?! _

They're halfway through the third movie — Professor Lupin has just started to turn into a werewolf. Penelope's focus isn't in the movie though. Her eyes are glued to Hope's amazed face, anxiously waiting to see her reaction to this particular scene. And the amused little smile that slowly makes its way to the Mikaelson girl's lips doesn't disappoint.

"Damn… I'm _so _glad I don't look like that when I shift." Hope says with a playful little chuckle "To be fair though, that's a pretty creative way of portraying werewolves."

"Right?" Penelope giggles — happy that Hope is enjoying the movie enough to make jokes about it. "I kinda thought you'd find it weird, to be honest. It being so far from reality and all."

"No, I don't think it's weird. Just... different." Hope reaches for the remote and stops the movie before facing Penelope. "I mean, we don't really lose ourselves as soon as we see the moon. It usually takes longer to shift, and it's so painful. At least at first. We don't look that ugly too."

Penelope hums and bites her lower lip, pleased with what her _friend _just said. But then she's left wondering something… The question burns in the back of her head but she's hesitant to actually ask it.

— _I'm even hesitating now? Me? Damn… This girl really got me good. — _But then her curiosity wins.

"How do you look like?" She asks shyly, but Hope only gives her a cute little frown, so she, quickly and rather awkwardly, adds; "In wolf form, I mean. How do you look in wolf form?"

The sudden shyness in Penelope's voice surely surprises Hope. For a second, she wonders where the always confident and collected girl she knows is. The tribrid then sits opposite to the other girl — one of her legs is folded under her while she's hugging the other near her chest, with her chin resting on top of her knee. She then looks down at her lap and takes a deep breath, not really sure of what to do or say next. Only for the words to leave her mouth anyway.

"I-I could show you, if you want." —_ Wait, what?! _

—_ Wait, what? — _Penelope's eyes widen, and for a moment she wonders if she dreamt Hope's words. Sure, she asked what Hope's wolf looks like, but for some reason she wasn't exactly expecting an answer — let alone _this one. _She slowly realizes that she's been silent for a while and Hope is looking expectantly at her, waiting for an answer.

"Really?" Penelope checks, trying her best not to sound as surprised as she feels.

Hope avoids the other girl's eyes upon hearing the surprise and expectation in her voice, so she only nods, not trusting her voice in that moment.

"I- I'd love that." Penelope softly says.

"Okay."

Hope notices that Penelope follows her every move as she moves out of bed. She stands awkwardly in the middle of her room, fiddling with the rings in her fingers as she thinks about how she's going to do this.

— _Why the bloody hell did I even suggest this in the first pla- Wait! — _The corner of her lips slowly quirks up when she realizes how _attentively _Penelope is looking at her. Hope's suddenly hit with a surge of confidence and her small smirk quickly turns mischievous — _Payback time, Park. _

Hope takes a few steps closer to the bed. She grabs the hem of her shirt and slowly pulls it up — marveling in the way Penelope's eyes suddenly widen, if only for a second —, once it's off of her body, she places it on the mattress. The same goes for her pants.

The tribrid then looks at the raven haired girl's face — there's a really faint pink tint starting to appear on her cheeks but other than that she doesn't look to be much affected by Hope's teasing. However, the tribrid can see a little more black in the witch's hazel-green eyes.

— _You don't fool me, miss Park. But sure. If that's how you wanna play, then so be it, let's play. _

Penelope can do nothing but stare at the amazing body displayed before her while trying hard to keep a straight face. When their eyes meet, Penelope wasn't expecting the tribrid to be looking at her like this — her gorgeous blue eyes are almost shining in defiance. In fact, there's a clear challenge in her stare. And the wicked smile on her face is taunting the witch, daring her to show some sort of reaction.

The raven-haired girl's not about to be outplayed though. Her plans, however, are instantly foiled when Hope slides a strap of her bra down her shoulder.

Hope grins in satisfaction and Penelope gives her a look of disbelief before arching an eyebrow in a silent challenge as if saying — _Really? That's all you got? I've seen you like this before, remember? _— That only makes Hope more excited to prove her wrong.

She winks sexily before turning her back to Penelope. Looking over her shoulder, she reaches behind herself and unclasps the hook of her bra. She slowly slides the other strap down and lets the piece fall off of her body and into her hands. Then she walks to her dresser — letting the witch have a good view of her naked back while she grabs herself a new pair of underwear and a hoodie.

When the Mikaelson girl starts walking back towards the bed, Penelope suddenly feels hot. She watches, transfixed, as the girl gathers all of her clothes into a single pile on the mattress before straightening herself up and facing her. — Hope has only one arm covering her breasts and Penelope feels her mouth going dry as her eyes widen and her jaw drops.

Hope only stands there for a few moments — delighted by the lustful look on Penelope's face as she checks her out. Now she understands why the witch was having so much fun the week before when they were trying clothes together. She feels a weird sense of accomplishment by having Penelope's eyes glued to her like this. It makes her feel_ good _.

"My eyes are up here, Park." She teases with a giggle after giving more than enough time for the other girl to check her out.

Her satisfaction then increases tenfold when Penelope flushes furiously before her eyes snap up to meet hers. The absolute lustful look on her face is priceless — there's only a little bit of green left in her pupils and she appears to be having trouble breathing. Hope's sure that no one has ever seen Penelope Park _this _stunned before.

Penelope's eyes however, don't stay on Hope's for long at all — In fact she doesn't even try — and soon enough they're roaming all over soft looking skin on display for her again.

Hope shakes her head in amusement and bursts out laughing as she takes her clothes to the bathroom, again, very aware of Penelope's eyes following her every move but feeling totally comfortable with it.

Penelope on the other hand, is amazingly blown away but for a whole different reason. Even though her mouth is drier than the Sahara desert, that she can't seem to fill her lungs with enough air and that her heart is beating so loudly and fast that she's positive that Hope can clearly hear it from anywhere in the room, she still doesn't take her eyes away from her.

Can't take her eyes away.

She simply _can't. _

Hope's beauty is absolutely breathtaking. Penelope dares to say that she's possibly the prettiest creature to ever grace the face of this earth. It's not just the fact that she's near naked. — even though it certainly helps — No.

It's literally everything about Hope Mikaelson. — It's the way her _gorgeous _auburn hair flows like lava over and down her shoulders. It's the way her piercing blue eyes shine with mischief, or the way she smiles when she's up to no good. It's the way she's totally unaware of the way she makes Penelope feel, or how she makes her heart go crazy. It's how she sees Penelope as who she really is and how the witch feels comfortable with it.

Are this and countless other details that make Penelope Park be a complete _goner _for Hope Mikaelson.

Only when Hope is back in front of the bed, facing her, that Penelope manages to focus back on her face — the smug smile on the tribrid's face takes her breath away one more time.

"Don't play games if you're not ready to lose." Hope emphasizes her remark with a sexy wink.

— _She's trying to kill me. — _Penelope swallows with difficulty, and takes a deep breath but it still takes her a few seconds to be able to form coherent words again.

"Nice played, Mikaelson." She finally concedes — truly impressed by this act of boldness —, to which she receives another cocky smile that maybe, just maybe, she wants to kiss out of her lips, but since that doesn't look like to be an option at the moment, she just shrugs, her usual smirk back in place.

"But as I said to you before; I don't mind losing if I get a view like this…" She quickly runs her gaze up and down the girl's body one more time. "And, I know that's pretty given by now but… Damn Hope! You're _hot _!"

"You can't not flirt, can you?" Hope says with a playful eye roll

"Nope." Penelope says playfully. "Now… not that I'm complaining but, may I know why you basically just gave me a strip-tease?"

"Well, It wouldn't be a good idea to rip these clothes that I just bought to pieces would It?" Hope says with a soft laugh. "Plus, you deserved it after what you did to me last week. Now we're even."

"Fair enough." Penelope says, joining the chuckles. Once their laughter dies down though, the witch notices Hope taking a few deep breaths and then she suddenly turns shy all over again.

"You should turn around and cover your ears now though... This part ain't pretty." Says the Mikaelson girl while taking a couple steps back.

Penelope nods and promptly does as told. And then it comes the sounds… The witch can literally hear Hope's bones breaking, even with her ears covered and something twists in her stomach. For a second she almost regrets agreeing to this — she doesn't like to know that the tribrid is in pain, even if it's only for a short moment.

Luckily the noises stop quickly, and shortly after Penelope feels a wet nose poking at her arm. She turns around and standing before her is a majestic wolf. A lot bigger than she thought. The fur is almost as white as snow if not for a few silver streaks. It's eyes are big, they're mostly yellow but it looks more like orange due to the red ring around the edges.

"Oh my god Hope… You're so beautiful…!" Penelope stares at the wolf in absolute awe. "Can I touch you?" She asks while hesitantly raising her hand.

Hope tilts her head to the side and then closes the distance. She leans her snout on the witch's hand and closes her eyes. It feels strange at first, she's not used to people touching her while in wolf form, but as soon as Penelope's hand starts running through her fur, she realizes it feels good. It's soothing and oddly relaxing.

Penelope's surprise at how incredibly soft Hope's fur is. Her hand disappears into the fluffy coat, feeling how warm the skin underneath is. Soon her other hand joins the party, petting the wolf behind its ears.

Hope didn't expect that being petted would feel so good. In fact, she finds herself having to fight the urge to turn around and expose her belly. But even in wolf form she knows enough not to do that. Penelope would never let her live that down. Instead, she decides to play a little bit. She jumps on the witch, making her squeal in surprise before her back hits the mattress.

"Looks like someone wants to play." Penelope smiles amusingly. "Should I get a ball for you to go fetch?"

Hope growls down at the witch but it only makes her laugh.

"How intimidating…" She mocks. "I'd probably be shaking here if not for the fact that I can see your tail wagging."

The tribrid then drops her heavy head on top of Penelope's chest, laying her body over the girl. At this moment she's happy she's a wolf, cause if it weren't the case, for sure her face would be redder than a tomato.

Hope's heavy. Penelope almost feels suffocated under the mountain of fluffiness. She says nothing though, afraid that Hope would move — the moment feeling too intimate and precious to be interrupted.

"You're just a big puppy aren't you?" Penelope softly teases while her hands run over the soft fur. Hope shakes her head but does nothing to prove her wrong, instead she just closes her big eyes and lets the witch pet her. Also not wanting the moment to end.

After a good while of them, somewhat, cuddling, Hope feels like it's time to shift back. She playfully licks Penelope's face before hopping out of the bed and making her way to the bathroom.

Once she's back in human form she decides to take a quick shower — the wonderful feeling of the hot water hitting her skin after having shifted into her wolf form is always a good help and welcomed comfort. Sure, her vampire healing would heal her anyway in no time, but showers are good, not to mention relaxing. She just hopes that her _friend _doesn't mind waiting a few minutes.

When she walks back inside her room, her eyes go straight to her bed, but the raven-haired girl's not there anymore. However, the tribrid can still hear her voice coming from just outside her room — she's talking to someone who Hope quickly realizes it's Lizzie. The Mikaelson girl then makes herself comfortable in her bed and not even a minute later, Penelope walks back inside, holding something in her hand.

"Oh, you're back…" Penelope says softly when she sees Hope. "_ Voldemort _stopped by to leave you this-" She shows the blood bag in her hand. "and to let you know that Caroline has restocked the blood supply."

"Thanks for getting it for me." Hope says with a soft smile. "Aunt Rebekah drank most of my stock so I was starting to run out."

"No problem." Penelope gives her a light chuckle while handling the blood bag to Hope, who doesn't drink it right away — Instead, she puts it in the nightstand besides her, deciding to drink it in a little while.

Hope sighs deeply and when her eyes fall on Penelope, the girl gives her a kind, almost timid, smile before crawling back on top of the bed and towards Hope. Definitely in the mood for more cuddles after her experience with wolf Hope, she quickly nestles into the Mikaelson girl's side — feeling beyond pleased when the auburn haired girl instantly starts playing with her raven hair, so she gently takes Hope's other hand and starts playing with the rings in her fingers.

— _She's turning me into a cuddle monster just like her. _

"How does it feel? Being a wolf." Penelope asks softly after a few minutes.

"Freeing."

"How so?"

"My mom used to say that there was nothing like being able to run free through the woods in wolf form, like nothing else in the world mattered but you and nature." Hope says rather sadly. "She was right. It is the best feeling in the world. Everything is simpler…"

Upon sensing the sadness in her voice, Penelope brings Hope closer and hugs her tighter. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"You didn't. It's fine. I just… I miss her you know?"

"Yeah, I bet. For the little that Jojo has told me about her it's clear that she was an amazing person."

"She really was..."

After a short moment of silence, Hope decides that now would be a good time for that blood bag.

"Uh… Pen, do you mind if I…?" She asks shyly while showing the bag to the witch.

"Not at all, go ahead." It's true, she doesn't mind it at all. In fact, seeing the girl drinking blood only makes her more curious about Hope's tribrid nature.

"Okay, I have another question." Penelope asks while sitting cross legged in front of Hope.

Hope gives her a little smile, happy for the change of subject.

"Of course." She says after taking a first sip. "Shoot."

"How does your vampire side work?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't need as much blood as a normal vampire and you can live off normal food for quite a while without needing blood. You're stronger than even your aunt who's an original…"

"I'm still not getting it…"

"I'm curious about how you activated the vampire side. Because it looks kinda similar to that _Twilight _hybrid… Once he turned 18 his vampire side kicked in and he stopped aging and stuff... Was it like that with you?"

— _What the bloody hell is she going on about? _

"Uh… What's _twilight? _" Hope asks shyly, hoping to not get scolded again for not knowing something that she supposedly should. Funny enough, Penelope only gives her a fond little laugh.

"It's another series of books/movies" Penelope explains — adoring the cute frown on the auburnette's face. "It's about this girl who falls in love with a vampire and… you know what? I think you're better off not knowing about that one."

"Okay then." Hope says through fits of laughter. "But answering your question… No, it wasn't like that for me."

"Okay, cool, 'cause that'd be lame." Penelope giggles. "How was it then?"

Hope suddenly looks down as she starts remembering how everything went down six months ago.

"You don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable." Penelope quickly reassures after noticing that Hope's deep in thought and looking a bit distressed. But then their eyes meet again and the tribrid's face softens.

"Well, for starters, I died." She starts. A quick look of shock goes through the ravenette's features but before she can say anything, Hope continues. "I wasn't attacked or anything like that." She holds Penelope's gaze to make sure the girl doesn't get worried. "It was my choice actually."

"Okay… so you did it because you wanted to be a vampire?"

"Not exactly."

"Why then?"

Hope takes a deep breath. "I did it for Josie and Lizzie." She says, and this time, Penelope's the one frowning.

"You don't mean…"

"The merge." Hope quickly nods. "I did it to stop the merge."

Penelope finds herself at a loss of words. She definitely wasn't expecting that to be the reason why Hope's a vampire.

"What- what do you mean? How?"

Hope closes her eyes as memories starts flooding her mind, and so, she starts explaining;

_A few weeks before he died, Klaus in one of his many travels around the world found a tribe of witches living in a secluded forest in Brazil that knew a lot about the Gemini curse. They shared all the information they knew and then told the hybrid where to look next. He then found what he was looking for — an old grimoire and some ancient scrolls that contained the information they needed to come up with a way to break the merge curse. _

_However, it was only after Hope's 18th birthday that Freya, Kol, Davina and Bonnie had finally managed to finish the spell to break the curse. Unfortunately it wouldn't be as easy as they were expecting. _

_The news came two weeks after Hope's birthday in a meeting they all had at the Salvatore School. It turned out that the spell not only required an enormous amount of power — which none of them had — but it also had a terrible catch. The merge ultimately required a life, so the person who casted it would unavoidably die. _

_It seemed too much of a coincidence for Hope to ignore. She wasn't supposed to be born. Her sisters weren't supposed to be born either. For the tribrid it was clear what that meant — she was the loophole. The only one that could do it. Not only because she wouldn't die but because she was the only one powerful enough. _

_Of course her family did not agree with her. At least not at first. Caroline was adamant against it, after all she had promised Klaus to keep taking care of his daughter as if she was one of her own, as she always had. The Mikaelsons didn't like the idea but they knew it was the only way. _

_Even the twins were against it. That's what made Hope be sure. She had closed herself off and hadn't had a proper talk with her sisters in about two years, and yet, they were still worried about her. Still wanting the best for her even if it meant that one of them would die. _

_After a long talk — especially with Caroline and the twins — they finally agreed it was the only way. However, they suggested waiting a few more years just in case… But Hope couldn't risk it. She couldn't risk losing anyone else that she loved. _

_What if something else happened? What if the spell didn't work? It would take too much time to come up with a new one, and her sisters wouldn't have that time, there were too many what ifs, so, no. Hope couldn't wait. After giving such a speech that would make even Naruto proud, no one dared to question her further. _

_On the very next day they performed the ritual. _

_Her family really wasn't kidding when they said it would take an enormous amount of power. Hope had to channel both Freya and Marcel to be able to perform it. When she was done, she could feel her body starting to shut down. _

_The proud yet concerned look on her family's faces was the last thing Hope saw before everything went black. _

At the end of her story, Penelope had a few tears running down her face. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"You- you gave your life for them?" Penelope asks in a choked voice.

"They're my family." Hope says. "I'd do it all over again, how many times necessary if it means keeping who I love safe." She takes a deep breath. "Besides, they did the same thing for me when the Hollow was killing me."

After saying this, Hope realizes that she'd do the same thing for Penelope in a heartbeat. This could only mean one thing, but she won't allow herself to say it. To feel it. To accept it.

"You _truly are beautiful _Hope Mikaelson…" More tears spill from Penelope's eyes. "Inside and out."

Hope doesn't know what to say to this. She never really thought of it this way. It didn't feel like a selfless decision, at the time. In her head, she only did what she did because she was scared and because she wanted her _sisters _safe.

"Did you have trouble adapting?" Penelope asks, saving Hope from having to come up with something to say.

"Not really. The first few days were rough due to the heightened emotions… that part is still a pain in the ass actually, but other than that, I adapted pretty fast."

"What about the blood?"

"Oh… I tried the bunny diet for a few days because Alaric didn't want me drinking human blood. But that didn't work, so my family taught me how to control the urges and stuff. I mean... they tried. Caroline was the one who actually taught me." She says with a playful smile while taking the last sip out of her blood bag.

"Let me guess, Dr Saltzman didn't want you drinking human blood because he thought you'd turn into your father?"

"Exactly."

"Ugh! I can't believe he'd still think of you like that after you just saved his daughters lives."

"Yeah, he can be pretty stupid sometimes…" Hope says with an eye roll but then she smirks. "Thankfully Caroline's the one who actually makes the final decisions around here."

"Amen to that!" Penelope chuckles while sitting back besides Hope. "I'm glad everything worked out for you in the end."

"Yeah… I'd say that the only downside of this whole thing was that now I'm forever stuck at eighteen."

"Hey..." Penelope lightly nudges Hope, a playful smirk already in place. "Look at the bright-side, at least now you're forever _hot." _

"Shut up!" Hope playfully nudges her back.

"What? I'm only stating the truth here."

"You just can't resist can you? Miss Penelope Park is always ready to flirt."

"What can I say? You know me so well..." Penelope winks.

Hope shakes her head in fake annoyance. She's about to say something back when she remembers something.

— _Maybe now's a good time to ask. _

"You know…I thought you already knew about all of that…" Hope stops, hesitant if she should bring it up or not. "Because, I'm pretty sure I wrote it all in my diary using that pen you gave everyone."

Suddenly Penelope feels like she had just been hit by a truck.

"Oh… Uh, about that… look, I'm really sorry-"

"I'm not mad." Hope cuts in.

"You- you're not?"

"No." Hope gives her a soft smile. "I mean, I was at first. But then you and Josie became such close friends, and then I heard you two talking about it in the library this one day. I didn't hear everything, but it was enough for me to know that Josie wasn't mad at you. So I assumed you had a good reason."

Penelope is so stunned that it's like the truck had just reversed and hit her again. She takes Hope's hand, hoping that the gesture would express her gratitude because she's not sure if her words would be enough.

"Look, I know it was wrong." She finally manages to speak. "I saw what you wrote about your parents on the first anniversary of their deaths, and that was the only time, I swear."

"Pen, it's okay. I'm really not mad."

"Still. It was wrong, and I'm sorry."

Hope squeezes her hand and lifts Penelope's chin with the other, making the witch face her.

"Why did you do it?" She asks carefully.

That's not really something Penelope likes to share with people, but she can make an exception for Hope. Besides, the tribird just shared a lot of personal things with her, so it's only fair that she tells the truth.

"When my parents decided to ship me here, I was reluctant." She starts. "But as I got here, I was just so determined to turn a new leaf... For the first few weeks I tried to make friends but then I started to notice that most people only hung out with me because I come from a rich and powerful family... If only they knew… but anyways. That's when I had the idea of the pens."

Hope is looking at her with genuine interest. Penelope can't see any hints of judgment in her blue eyes, so she takes a deep breath and keeps going.

"At first I convinced myself that I was doing that so I could have the upper hand on people. For leverage you know? And then I put on this mask. This _untouchable _, _heartless bitch _facade. And it worked." She smiles sadly. "People started to look up to me, respect me... But I still felt empty. No one ever bothered to try to get past this... Illusion, that I created." Her eyes then lit up a little bit. "No one but Josie. She was the first one to see me for who I was. The first one to like me as me. And then eventually, MG did too, and even Lizzie…"

She takes Hope's hand between hers, looking deep into her eyes. "And now... Now there's you too."

"But then I realized that the real reason why I gave everyone those pens was that so I could know what they were saying about me. I had to know if I was being enough for once. I used it as a guide to know who I should be…"

"I'm so sorry your parents made you doubt your worth. But If they can't see the amazing person that you are then it's their loss, Pen." She says softly but inside she's burning with rage. "And, I know that you probably don't even use those pens anymore, at least for that purpose, but I think it's still worth saying; You don't need that. You don't need to know what people think of you to know who you should be or how you should act."

Hope once again lifts Penelope's chin up to make sure she can see the truth in her gaze.

"You just need to be yourself. Because you're pretty great." She says with a gentle smile. "And if I, of all people, are saying this, it's because it's true. The ones who can't see that, are not worth your time."

— _Just when I thought I couldn't possibly fall more in love… _

"You truly are amazing, you know that?"

"You might've mentioned before." Hope says with a soft giggle.

"Shut up!" Penelope chuckles, feeling like a weight have been lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you for saying this… and for not being mad at me."

"Of course." Hope gives her hand another gentle squeeze. "There's nothing to be mad about. I understand your reasons. Besides, with a father like mine I can't really say that, if I was in the same situation, I wouldn't have done the same."

"Jeez… we need therapy." Penelope says in an attempt to further lighten the mood and it works wonderfully because Hope starts laughing.

"That's not a bad idea. " Hope ponders, making a mental note to talk seriously about this with Penelope later, because they really could use a little professional help. "But since we can't do that right now, what do you say if we go back to the movies?"

"Sounds good to me."

As soon as _`The Goblet of Fire' _comes to an end, Penelope cuddles back into Hope's side, hugging her close. It feels so good and the tribrid is so warm... She knows it's time to say goodbye for tonight though, after all its _way _past curfew _, _but she still needs a few more minutes.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." She softly says, feeling the other girl's arms tightening around her.

"Me too." Hope says sincerely.

"Did you enjoy the movies?" Penelope asks even though she knows that the answer is yes — she just wants to hear Hope's voice for a little longer.

"Yeah I did, they're amazing." Hope says while playing with raven locks. "I'm really excited to watch the rest now…"

"I'm glad to hear that, cause if you didn't, you'd leave me no choice but to dump your ass." Penelope teases. "I can't be _friends _with someone who doesn't like Harry Potter…" Saying the word 'friends' leaves a bad taste in her tongue.

"Good thing I liked it then." Hope says, giving the raven-haired girl a playful nudge only to hug her even tighter afterwards.

"Yeah… Let's watch the rest tomorrow. My room this time?"

"Okay."

They fall silent for a few minutes and the way Hope's fingers are playing with her hair makes Penelope want to fall asleep right here, but she can't. She's got something planned for the Mikaelson girl and it will require her pretty much the whole day tomorrow to get it perfect.

"Thank you for sharing such an important part of your life with me, Hope." The raven haired girl says quietly, then she lifts up her head from the tribrid's chest to look her in the eyes. "It means a lot."

"Same." Hope says with a fond little smile.

"Thanks for showing me your wolf form too... Fluffy you is really cute."

— _Did she just call me cute? _

_" _What?!" Hope deadpans, baffled. "I'm not cute! How can you call me cute?"

"Because you are!" Penelope giggles.

"I'm not! I'm dangerous! Not cute."

"Of course you are…" Penelope shakes her head in amusement, loving the blush on Hope's face. "You're a powerful, vicious and dangerous predator… _Wolfie." _

"Thank you!" Hope says, smugly but then the last part finally registers in her brain and she rolls her eyes. "Wolfie? Really?" She tries to sound annoyed but the way the nickname fell from Penelope's lips_ , _so _lovingly _, makes her feel butterflies in her stomach.

"What?" Penelope giggles again. "It's cute…" She tucks a strand of auburn hair behind Hope's ear. "Just like you."

This time, Hope can't help when her lips stretch into a shy smile and her cheeks blush. She even gives up on arguing. She tries to come up with a _cute _nickname for Penelope too but her train of thought is interrupted when soft lips comes in contact with her cheek — leaving a lingering kiss.

All too soon the touch is gone but Hope still feels the kiss on her skin.

Penelope gives her one last look before getting up from the bed and putting her shoes back on. She starts walking towards the door but stops midway.

"Meet me in my room tomorrow let's say... around 6 PM?"

"It's a date." Hope says, her hand mindlessly going to her cheek. — _Wait! Date? Why did a say date?! _

"Perfect." Penelope says with a huge smile before walking the rest of the way to the door. "Goodnight _Wolfie." _

"Goodnight…" Hope whispers and then Penelope is gone.

As Penelope walks back to her room, she can't hide the huge smile on her face. She really feels like her relationship with Hope is finally going to where she wants it to. It finally feels like they're on the right path. Like they're almost there. And that thought only makes Penelope more excited and nervous about her plans for tomorrow

Penelope's gone from her room, but not her mind. Hope can't stop replaying the day in her head. The more she records the more she realizes that she's ultimately _screwed _.

She's falling. Falling deep, fast and without a parashoot for Penelope Park. So many things are making it clear to her now. How comfortable they both are with each other, how easy it is to talk about delicate things, how understandable they are with each other, how vulnerable…

The Ravenette girl is the last person she thinks about as she goes to sleep, and the first person to manifest in her thoughts when she wakes up. Hope rolls in bed until she's facing the ceiling, and then she lets out a sigh. There's no turning back now, no denying the feeling in her chest.

Penelope Park is living rent free inside her mind.

Inside her _heart. _

The tribrid quickly gets out of bed. She needs to distract herself, because she can't keep thinking about the raven haired witch. Hope puts some of her painting clothes on and pulls her hair in a messy bun at the top of her head. She replaces the canvas she already started with a blank one. She tries not to think as she paints the first few lines on the white canvas. Letting her mind run free as she paints is gonna do her some good.

Except that it doesn't work because she ends up painting Penelope.

Hope freezes when she recognizes the soft face of the ravenette on her canvas. She quickly puts her brush down, and then gets out of her painting clothes. There is no way she's dealing with this right now. She can find another distraction.

When she's changed back into a pair of sweatpants and a way too big shirt, Hope settles comfortably back on her bed and grabs the TV remote. She mindlessly opens Netflix, only to realize Penelope's account is still logged in. Instead of just logging off, Hope hits the power button, shutting the TV off in a rush.

She takes a deep breath, and then another before grabbing one of her pillows and burying her face in it — intending to use it to muffle a scream, but instead she's assaulted by Penelope's scent.

— _ Oh come on now! Give me a break! _

There's only one thing for her to do at this point. She needs to wolf out, and she needs to do it fast. It doesn't take Hope long to get to the woods and turn. The change is freeing, and when she starts running, it feels like heaven. But in the back of her mind, there's always a silly voice reminding her of Penelope.

_Wolfie… _

Hope can practically hear the witch's voice, and the fondness with which the words were spoken. Then she thinks about the way Penelope ran her fingers through her fur with such a gentle touch.

That's when it really clicks for Hope — there's no way to avoid thinking about Penelope now.

No avoiding her feelings now.

When Hope shifts back to her human form and makes her way back to school, she notices the position of the sun in the sky — It's already late. The tribrid quickly walks to her room, and when she's there she goes straight to her phone.

_« 05:45 » Saturday, November 21. _

She's supposed to be meeting up with Penelope in 15 minutes, but the thought of it makes her mind go into a spiral and her heart to practically jump out of her chest. So she hops into the shower — a last desperate attempt to take her mind away from the raven haired girl and just relax for a little while.

After standing under the hot water for a good while, she steps out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and goes to her dresser. It's just after she's fully dressed that she realizes that the clothes she's wearing are the ones Penelope had chosen for her. Frustration settles in — not even while getting dressed Hope can get the raven-haired girl out of her mind.

She's about to go back to her dresser and pick something else to wear when her phone vibrates. With slow steps she walks to her bed and picks it up → _From Penelope;_ _5 messages, 1 missed call. « 06:15 » _

— _I can't do this. _

When she feels like she can't breathe, Hope knows she needs to escape this situation. She quickly grabs her phone and dials her aunt Freya's number. As she asks her aunt if she can stay with her and Keelin for a couple of days, Hope opens her laptop and quickly starts looking for a plane ticket. Freya tries to ask what's happening, but then she understands her niece is in panic mode.

As soon as the call is over, Hope finally clicks on the _confirm _button and buys the ticket. When it's done, she immediately starts packing. She stops midway through, like a thought makes her totally freeze. The tribrid decides to leave the halfway done backpack on her bed, and to go tell Caroline she'll be gone for a few days. As Hope closes the door of her bedroom behind her, she catches sight of the backpack and it gives her a hard time to tear her eyes away from it.

Her talk with Caroline is longer than she would have expected it to be. The woman is immediately worried when Hope tells her she's leaving for New Orleans. The tribrid tries to comfort her without telling her what's going on. She's almost sure she didn't do that much of a good job, because as she's leaving the room, Hope can feel Caroline's motherly gaze on her.

On her way back she checks her phone again, instantly regretting it. _22 Messages, 5 missed calls. « 06:40 »_

Hope feels overwhelmed, Penelope is invading her _every _thought — every blink is Penelope, every thought is Penelope, every heart beat and body ache is Penelope. She can feel herself starting to lose control. Her mind is locked in an internal battle — the conscious part of her mind tells her to go home and _protect _herself while the unconscious screams for her to stay. So, it's really not a surprise when instead of ending up in her room, Hope finds herself in front of the twin's one, already knocking on their door.

Lizzie barely has time to register that Hope's who's standing outside before the girl's rushing into the room, brushing right past her. It only takes her one single look at her _sister _to know that something is wrong.

"Uh… Hello to you too, Hope." Says the blonde girl, carefully.

Josie sits up in her bed and quickly mirrors her twins' worried expression. Lizzie makes her way to sit beside her twin and they watch together as Hope paces frantically around the room — both girls getting more worried by the second.

"I'm falling in love with Penelope." Hope suddenly blurts out while spinning to face her _sisters _— she sees the girls exchanging a knowing look and that only gets her more apprehensive. However, their faces quickly soften and turn understanding, so Hope continues.

"I- I can't stop thinking about her… and I just want to run away." She says, running her hands through her hair. "I-I... why do I feel like running away?! I even bought plane tickets!" The room is starting to shake, Hope is losing control.

Lizzie jumps to her feet and quickly pulls her _sister _into her arms but the auburn haired girl is not calming down. Books are falling off the shelves, the lights are flickering, the floor is shaking…

"I'm losing my mind... I can't deal with this... Not- not after..." Hope cries, burying herself into the blonde siphoner.

Josie and Lizzie share a quick look and it's like the both of them have the exact same thought. — _You mean... After you ex-boyfriend kidnapped you so that his Nazi mom could kill you, but ended up killing Hayley, who sacrificed herself to protect you? Yeah, that's pretty reasonable. _

Lizzie pulls back and gently grabs Hope's hands.

"Hey, hey… Look at me." She pleads, starting to siphon the excess of magic away from her _sister _and casting a calming charm _. _"Breathe with me, okay? Come on… In… and out… That's it, again. In… and out. You're doing good, let's go again…"

Hope's eyes never leave Lizzie's, and soon enough the tremors stop and she starts to calm down. The blonde then gently leads them towards the bed — she sits down, hugging Hope from behind with Josie in front of them, holding the auburnette's hands.

Josie gives Lizzie a proud smile before focusing her attention on Hope.

"I know you're scared." She starts. "And I understand you. I really do. But Penelope's not like that. She's nothing like _him… _" She squeezes Hope's hands and gives her a soft smile while looking into her eyes. "She just wants you to be happy."

Deep down Hope knows she's right. It doesn't change anything though — she's still scared out of her mind.

"I-I think I need to go home... Calm my mind..." Hope says.

"You should talk to Penelope before you decide that." Josie tries reasoning with her, knowing full well how her best friend is madly in love with her _sister. _"At least hear her out. Please?"

"Josie's right." Lizzie says softly while tightening her hold around Hope. "At least hear what _Satan _has to say before you make a decision. And then, if you still feel like you need to leave, we'll support you, okay?"

"We'll even take you to the airport." Josie quickly agrees with her twin. "But, please talk to her first."

Hope looks down, the voice at the back of her mind is screaming for her to listen to them.

"Do it for _us _, please?" Josie pleads.

"We just want you to be _happy _, Hope." Lizzie adds in a tender voice.

"Okay." Whispers Hope.

* * *

Penelope checks her phone for the hundredth time. _« 07:05 » _

She sends yet another message but gets no reply. She's been waiting for more than an hour and by now she's more than a little worried. There's this unsettling feeling in her chest that tells her that something must be wrong with Hope — somehow she can feel that the tribrid is distressed.

Her surprise for Hope lays untouched, just waiting for the girl's arrival. The ravenette has spent the entire day setting it all up. All decorations are in place, the food is ready, the table is set, the movies are ready.

She unlocks her phone, deciding to text her best friend, hoping that she'd know what is wrong.

●_ Jojo, do you know where Hope's at? She's not answering me, I think something's wrong. _

Not even ten seconds later there's a reply.

_Yeah... you should move your plans to her room, she'll be there. _

_Go now. _

●_ Will do. _

She quickly slips her phone into the waistband of her leggings and starts packing the food into a little basket. Then she casts a few spells onto the decorations so that she could transport it all to Hope's room without messing anything up. As soon as everything is ready, she's out of her room.

She stops in her tracks when Caroline calls for her from the kitchen. Penelope quickly notices that the headmistress looks tired as she makes her way towards her. The vampire asks her if she knows if there's something wrong with Hope. She tells that the tribrid just informed her that she'll be going back home for a few days and that she was looking distressed.

— _ Oh no… I think I know what's wrong. _

Penelope quickly reassures the vampire telling her that she's actually on her way to see Hope right now and that she'll make sure she's okay. Once Caroline gives her a nod, the witch runs to the tribrid's room, now more worried than ever.

When she gets there, her suspicions are proven true — something is definitely wrong. The girl is pacing back and forth and in her body language, the witch can clearly notice signs of distress. Penelope's quickly filled with worry.

"_ Wolfie _, what's wrong?" She asks carefully.

Hope freezes, and looks at the ravenette, her eyes wider than usual. "I- uh… Nothing."

"Hope." Penelope says seriously. "What happened? Caroline just told me you're going home."

"I don't know, okay? I'm just... confused." Hope takes a deep breath to calm herself. "I think a little time at home will help me."

"Confused about what?" Penelope asks, even though she's pretty sure that she knows the answer..

"Can we just… not talk about it?"

Penelope reluctantly agrees, not wanting to distress the girl further. Her face softens and she smiles instead.

"I have a surprise for you."

When Hope looks at her excited face, all of her plans for ignoring Penelope go flying right out the window — exactly like the night before. She looks _majestic._ She's wearing the loose black sweater she bought the week before — in the same way she did in the fitting room. With one side slided down, letting her left shoulder bare. —, with a really stylish pair of black leggings.

Hope's eyes travel through Penelope's entire body, and maybe they stay a bit too long on her chest — the sweater the witch is wearing is loose, but it still hugs her torso in such a perfect way that Hope can, vaguely, see the _pierced nipples _poking through the fabric. Vivid memories of the fitting room _incident _comes flooding Hope's mind, making her heartbeat increase.

She's not about to embarrass herself again though, so she smoothly lifts her gaze back to the ravenette's face — her hair is still a bit damp, making it look so much darker, and her smile is blinding and apparently contagious, because Hope feels herself joining in Penelope's excitement.

_— It really isn't fair that she's this bloody freaking beautiful! _

"Yeah?"

"Uhum!" Penelope says happily and with a flick of her wrist, she makes a small table appear in the middle of the room. She goes over to it and starts setting the food in it. With another quick spell, she summons the decorations she prepared earlier. Floating candles — _Just like in the movie _— , rose petals, the whole deal.

Hope is left dumbstruck. Once she gets a closer look, her jaw almost hits the floor. On top of the table are all of her favorite foods. She knows she told Penelope about a few of her favorite foods, but she's sure she didn't tell her about all of them. Regardless, there it was. All of them.

"Pen… what-" She is having trouble with her words at how surprised she is. "How?"

Penelope smirks proudly at rending the Mikaelson girl speechless.

"Rebekah helped." She says. "I asked her to send me a list with all of your favorites. Also, a friend of mine so happens to be in New Orleans, so I asked her to send it over to me. Magic is really amazing, you know?"

Hope feels her heart swell with emotion, and suddenly she regrets avoiding Penelope all day. It's hard for Hope to remember her fears in the face of such genuine affection from the raven-haired girl. And she knows Penelope; She isn't the type to do this for just anyone.

"Wow… I- I don't even know what to say… I huh... Thank you!" She struggles to say, but then Penelope gives a smile that completely steals the air from inside Hope's lungs. Her previous concerns are quickly left forgotten.

They then sit down to eat. The dinner goes on smoothly — they laugh, they talk about lighter things, Penelope flirts, Hope blushes… Then, when it's over — against her better judgment —, Hope quickly finds herself cuddling into the ravenette's side as they resume their Harry Potter marathon.

Hope keeps getting distracted because every now and then, Penelope's scent is the only thing she can focus on. It feels different somehow. It feels _familiar _. It gives her a sense of calm and peace that not even running in wolf form can beat.

Throughout the film, both girls keep stealing quick glances at each other. Penelope wants to talk, but she knows better. Hopefully the movies would help Hope to relax enough so that they can talk. And so, she focuses her attention on the laptop and waits.

Once '_ The Order of the Phoenix' _is over, they take a little break. Silence washes over them, and it makes the witch's mind go into dangerous places. And just like that, Penelope can't take it anymore. — The unsettlement inside her chest is too big for her to ignore. The mere idea of Hope being away from her is too painful to bear.

Rebekah's words then starts echoing in her mind. — '_ If she pushes you away, you push her back.' _

That's when she makes up her mind. She needs to do something _now _. She pushes the laptop away and quickly straddles Hope's lap. — To say that the girl is surprised would be an understatement.

"What- What are you doing?" Hope mumbles, and suddenly, her heart skips a beat — or a few, actually — with Penelope standing _this _close to her. She can already feel the blood rushing to her face as her heartbeats increase.

Instead of dwelling on the way this _close _proximity makes her feel inside, Hope decides to focus her eyes on Penelope's face, and the auburn-haired girl is shocked by the vulnerability she sees written all over Penelope's features.

Penelope looks deep into the Tribrid's eyes, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, affectionately.

"Please don't leave..." She pleads. — _Please don't leave me. _

"What-" Hope begins to ask but then she understands. "Oh..."

"You mean _so _much to me, Hope..." Penelope runs her thumb over the tribrid's cheek. "Please stop pushing me away... my heart can't take it." She pleads, her voice breaking at the end.

Hope looks away. — _Of course she noticed I was trying to avoid her. _

"Pen…" Her voice is quiet. "You can't say that…"

"It's the truth."

"It can't be the truth."

Penelope feels a pang in her chest.

"Why not?" She pleads. "And don't tell me it's because people who care about you die."

"But they do…" Hope's voice keeps getting smaller "Everyone who gets close to me-"

"That's bulshit, Hope!" Penelope cuts in. "You're just scared of letting people in, so you push everyone away instead…" She pauses for a second, contemplating on her next words. "Look… We both have been hurt-"

"Pen…"

"No. Please, listen to me-" Penelope takes a deep breath. "I don't let people in either." She states matter of factly. "My family has treated me like shit my whole life, did everything in their power to get rid of me and ignored my existence. On the rare occasions we're actually in the same room, my mom doesn't even look at me, Hope. And my father has done nothing but tell me how much he's disappointed with me for just existing."

"It's not-"

"Don't you dare say it's not the same!" The hurt in Penelope's voice is clear. "I don't like to let people into my life because my family has always made me feel like I was never enough. Because of that, I'm terrified of letting anyone see how I really am because I don't want them to be disappointed in me..."

Hope looks down, not being able to see the pain in those hazel eyes. — _You're enough for me. — _She wants to say but can't bring herself to. Penelope's voice then gets impossibly softer, but the pain is still there.

"Your parents are physically gone, Wolfie. But at least you had their love. I've never even had that…"

Hope feels like she just got punched in the gut — the air gets knocked out of her lungs and she feels like she can't breathe.

"I'm _sorry _…" she whispers, meeting Penelope's eyes.

Penelope can hear the sorrow in those words, so she holds Hope's face carefully between her hands. "I care about you Hope. And it hurts when you push me away, and it hurts that you thought that running away was a better option then just talking to me."

"I'm _so _sorry Pen..." Hope feels the shame like a physical burn. "Please believe me. I _swear _It was never my intention to hurt you. " Her hands shake as it covers Penelope's. "You're too important to me..."

"Then why won't you let me in?" Penelope asks softly.

Hope's mouth opens a couple of times but she can't bring herself to answer, and she can no longer hold eye contact, so she looks down again.

Penelope gives her a small smile and starts brushing her thumbs over Hope's cheeks in an attempt to bring them both some sort of comfort. Her gaze then quickly shifts to the half packed backpack sitting in the corner.

"Don't go Wolfie." Penelope actually _begs _this time. " _Please _."

It makes Hope feel _ashamed _. She knows how much it must take for Penelope to _beg _, to be _this _vulnerable with her. She feels guilty for being the reason for the pain in Penelope's eyes. She never ever wants to be the reason Penelope is hurting- she wants to protect her from that. She _needs _to make this right.

"I'm _so _sorry..." She whispers "If you don't want me to go-"

"I don't." Penelope cuts in. "I don't want you to go."

"Then I won't."

It's not enough to Penelope though.

"Promise me." She sounds desperate. "Promise me I won't wake up tomorrow and find out that you're gone."

That's why Hope wanted to just leave. She knew that if Penelope asked her to stay, she would.

"I promise."

"Good." Penelope sighs, her body slumping down, her gaze, slowly shifting to Hope's lips and she could've sworn Hope's were doing the same.

Her hands are still resting on the tribrid's neck, being covered by Hope's. — _This just feels so right... _— With that thought, Penelope, unconsciously, starts leaning in and Hope can't help but do the same.

The raven haired girl pulls her like a magnet. But then Hope realizes what she's doing and stops dead in her tracks. The reality of the moment comes crashing down upon her, making her panic.

— _No! I can be her friend, but I can't fall in love. I can't. She'll get hurt. I can't get her hurt. I can't lose her. _

Once Penelope also realizes what she's doing, it's already too late and she can't bring herself to stop. Instead she decides to be optimistic and just keep going.

"Pen… please." Hope pleads but Penelope just keeps getting closer.

"Please, what?" The witch asks while holding Hope's gaze. Then she leans in further. Her eyes closing, their lips almost brushing against each other.

Hope stays frozen. She can feel the other girls breathing against her mouth. She finds herself wanting to close the distance. The desire grips at her, racing through her blood, urging her to finally feel those lips against her own. But a voice in the back of her head keeps her from moving, her mind locked in a struggle between her fear and her desire.

Hope's heart is beating fast. Too fast. She feels it thumping violently against her rib cages, like it's trying to break through.

At the last second, Hope shuts her eyes closed and turns her head slightly to the side. Dodging Penelope's lips. She can barely stand rejecting the other girl, but she's too afraid to cross that line, to accept what she so desperately wants.

"Don't kiss me," Her voice sounds weak. "_ please. _"

Penelope's eyes open, but she doesn't back away.

"Why?" She whispers. There's a slight hint of hurt in her voice, and it's enough to make Hope flinch.

"I- I can't…" Hope says in a cry laced voice. — It actually pains her to do so.

"But you want to," Penelope's voice is suddenly gentle — gentler than Hope has ever heard. "don't you?"

Despite that, Hope — _regretfully _— shakes her head no, denying the girl once more. But it's useless, because it's an empty gesture, and it holds absolutely no conviction.

Penelope gently places her left hand against Hope's chest, feeling the frantic thumping of her heart, and that's all the answer she needs.

Hope winces at the contact. — Penelope's touch only makes her heart beat even harder and faster. As if reacting to her touch, or even being _attracted _by it. — Her hands then drop to the witch's waist in a desperate attempt to find purchase in the contact.

"Yes you do." The witch whispers softly, her forehead leaning against Hope's. "You can lie to yourself all you want." Her hazel green eyes fixed into ocean blue ones. "But your heart cannot."

"Why are you doing this?" Hope asks in a broken whisper — her eyes starting to shine with tears.

"Doing what?" Penelope backs away just enough to meet her eyes properly.

"This." Hope's glance quickly roams across the room. "The movies, the dinner… being so _sweet _."

Then her eyes drop to Penelope's hand on her chest and her own hand meets hers there.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Her voice is suddenly small. "Why are you trying so hard to make me fall for you?"

"Because I want you." Penelope says promptly. Her voice, loaded with an astonishing certain.

Hope shakes her head in disbelief. "You could be with _anyone _in this school… why _me _?"

"I don't wanna be with anyone else, Hope." The witch says with a little sigh, but her voice remains gentle. "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"I'm broken, Penelope... Why would you want to be with me?!"

— '_ I'm broken' _The raven haired witch feels the defeated, small way Hope says these words, like a physical blow in her heart. It _hurts _.

"You're not broken, Hope." She pleads with her, but the pain in her heart makes her voice falter. "You never was and never will be… At least not to me."

"You- you don't know that. What if-"

"You and me are not that different, Hope. And I don't think _I'm_ broken... I know what it's like to feel alone, what is like to feel that you don't deserve to be happy. I know." Penelope keeps on begging because she can't bear the sad look on Hope's face. "But no one should have to feel this way. _You_ shouldn't have to feel this way."

She places her other hand back on Hope's neck, gently playing the baby hairs at the back of her neck while her thumb runs tenderly over her cheek. "And for the first time in my life, I don't feel that way. You make me feel like I can be happy. You make me happy without even realizing it."

Hope shakes her head in disbelief, Penelope's words catching her by surprise. But as soon as she opens her mouth to say something, the witch cuts her off.

"Don't do that. Please. Don't pretend like you don't care, because I know you do."

Tears pool in Hope's blue eyes. "I-I… I can't."

"Why not?"

"If- If I care, you'll get hurt, and I can't…" Hope half confesses — her voice breaking into a crying tone.

"Lies."

"Pen, please… I can't lose you too okay?" She weakly shakes her head, as if trying to shake away the mere idea of that ever happening. "I… I can't go through that again."

"What makes you think you'll lose me?"

"You saw what almost happened to MG…"

"For the _hundredth _time, that wasn't your fault, Hope. Now, please answer me."

"Pen… people I care about leave me. Or get hurt because of me. And… I can't bear the thought of losing you. Or see you getting hurt."

"You know that is not true, Hope." Penelope says gently but Hope is avoiding her gaze. The defeated look on the tribrid's face feels like claws digging into the witch's heart. She can't stand it to see her like this. She just wants to make it stop. _Needs_ to make it stop. "Wolfie… _please_ look at me."

The tribrid forces herself to meet Penelope's eyes, knowing the reason for avoiding eye contact will be clear. Hope's words say one thing, but she can't hide the emotions in her gaze. The fear, the desperation, and even the _love _. Her hands tremble, but she lets Penelope see it all, like she's cracking her heart open for the other girl to read.

"I won't leave you alone, okay?" The raven-haired girl pleads. "You won't lose me. I can promise you that." — Still silence. — "Listen to me. Nothing of what happened in the past was your fault. None of it."

"The last time I let myself _care _about someone…" Hope trails off, but Penelope understands perfectly what she's trying to say.

Roman.

"That wasn't your fault either and you know it." Penelope says firmly but yet, somehow, gently. "Besides. That won't happen again. All I want is for you to be happy."

"People still got hurt because of it…"

"_It wasn't your fault!" _Penelope pauses for a second and takes a deep, calming breath. "But even if it was… I'm still not leaving you alone." She looks deep into Hope's eyes. "And I don't care if I get hurt by doing so."

— '_I don't care if I get hurt…'_ Penelope's words take Hope by surprise, and not in a good way. More like getting a knife in her heart.

"Please don't say that-" Hope tries to plead.

"You can turn me into a vampire if it makes you feel safer, I don't care.

Don't care if I lose my powers.

Don't care about what my parents will say.

I don't care about any possible consequences.

All I care about is _you, Hope_." Penelope says firmly, succeeding in stopping Hope's rambling and making her eyes widen even more, surprised by every word coming out of Penelope's mouth.

"Because you're worth it. I'll prove that to you, no matter how long it takes." Nothing but honesty in her voice, eyes never leaving Hope's.

"You.

_Hope Andrea Mikaelson. _

Are worth it." Not a single bit of doubt in her voice.

Penelope waits patiently for what it feels like a long time, but Hope is saying nothing, she looks like she's completely lost.

Sitting in her lap, Penelope can perfectly feel how the Mikaelson girl's body is tense. And by the fact that they are this close, the witch also has a perfect view of her face, so it's pretty obvious for her to see that Hope's emotions are all over the place.

After a few too many moments of absolute silence, Penelope starts to worry. It's suffocating. — Her heart races and hammers heavily inside of her chest while a slight dread starts coursing through her body.

— _Shit shit shit! I said too much. Crap! I think I just scared her away. Damn It! I need to fix this. Fast. But how? Think Penelope. Think! — _She's totally panicking right now, that's probably why nothing comes to her mind. — _I shouldn't have confessed my feelings like that. Maybe Hope wasn't ready to hear it yet… Shit! _

Despite being mentally kicking herself over and over, Penelope forces herself to stay put, but every second of silence makes her feel like she's gonna be sick.

After a few more seconds Hope's expression softens and her body relaxes, but she's still saying nothing, just looking at the raven-haired girl with an adorable face of disbelief.

Penelope then releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding, immediately feeling an_ immense _relief at knowing she didn't oversteeped.

Maybe Hope just needs some time alone to digest everything she said. Penelope doesn't want to leave though. The mere idea of leaving the auburn haired girl alone in a moment like this _pains _her, but she feels like Hope needs to be alone with her thoughts right now.

"It's okay to _care _, Wolfie. I know it is scary, trust me I know. But it's _okay _." Penelope pauses for a second to fill her lungs with air, trying to calm her racing heart, then she fixes her glance into ocean eyes — making sure that the Mikaelson girl can see the absolute truth in her gaze. — "I know that because I do care for you. _So very much _..." She finishes with a sincere soft smile on her lips, laying a sweet kiss on Hope's cheek before she, _begrudgingly _, removes herself off of the tribrid's lap and turns to leave.

That was _all _it took for her to break through the very last wall that Hope had built around her heart.

And Hope knew it.

She_ felt _it.

The exact instant that Penelope Park stole her heart.

It was almost like she could see it flying out of her chest and going straight to Penelope's careful hands. Powerless to stop it.

Hope doesn't know exactly how she feels about this, she's terrified at first, that's for sure, but there's also something else she can't quite understand what it is at the moment.

The only thing she knows for sure is that there's absolutely nothing she can do about it. Her heart belonged to the raven-haired girl now, maybe it always has, she just haven't realized it before.

_Penelope also felt it. _

However, in her rush to leave the room — believing to be the best option for both of them at that moment —, she misses the vulnerability and fear in Hope's eyes as they fill with tears.

Penelope regrets leaving as soon as she closes the door behind her though. After a few seconds of hesitation, she runs her hands through her raven hair, takes a deep breath and starts moving away.

Hope can't take it, her feelings are just too much for her. She feels overwhelmed by them, making her feel like she can't breathe. But she can't deny it anymore — She _loves _that cocky, overconfident but also sweet and caring girl more than anything. Despite that, she can't get rid of the lingering fear of having her heart crushed again. She wouldn't be able to survive it this time.

It's only when Hope hears the door closing that she comes out of her thoughts. It takes her a few too many seconds to register that Penelope has left the room, but as soon as she does, she finds herself opening her door again before she can even think about it.

"Penelope!" She cries, helplessly running to the girl.

Penelope is slowly walking away. She feels like there's an invisible force griping at her heart — crushing it more and more with each step away that she takes. Despite that, she keeps going. One step at a time. And It isn't until she hears her name being called, ever so quietly, that she stops and turns around to see Hope running towards her.

They only stare at each other for a few moments. Penelope can feel that something between them is different. It's the same thing she felt before leaving the tribrid's room. Now however, she's sure it wasn't just her imagination. It feels like a piece of her soul has finally fallen into place and for the first time in her life, she truly feels... _Complete _.

Suddenly it doesn't really matter that the tribrid is still silent. Penelope holds her gaze and patiently waits. And after a few more seconds of hesitation, the raven-haired girl can see the turmoil of emotions behind ocean blue eyes subsiding a little bit.

The Mikaelson girl opens her mouth and then closes again. Her hand is shaking as it mindlessly goes to her chest, over her heart — noticing that there's something different about the way it beats —, and she tries her best to focus, at least a tiny bit, on the hazel-green eyes in front of her before finally managing to get the words to leave her mouth.

"Please, _give it back… _" Hope begs quietly.

She knows it's to no avail, but she isn't really thinking straight at the moment, her heightened emotions taking the best of her.

Hope's eyes are still shining with tears, but the look in them changes — as if the _storm _of feelings that has been raging inside of them has just cleared —, and it hits Penelope like a lighting strike.

She can perfectly see the pain behind them, the fear of abandonment, the longing for love, it's all there… Crystal clear, no walls blocking it this time, no barriers, no deflections, nothing. Just pure vulnerability. And Penelope can feel her own heart breaking at the sight.

_— How can someone so strong like you hide so much pain behind a smile? _— A spike of anger shoots through her body.

—_ How could anyone ever hurt someone like Hope? _— She swears to herself that if she ever finds the ones who wronged her, she will be their downfall.

But as for right now she makes a more important promise to herself;

To show this girl in front of her how worthy she is.

To show her how loved she deserves to be.

To do her best to make sure that no one ever hurts her again.

But most importantly; To never hurt her.

Hope might haven't realized it yet, but Penelope's heart already belonged to her, it has for a long time now.

"No." Penelope says softly but with absolute determination in her voice.

Desperation fills the redhead's features as she looks deep into Penelope's certain eyes.

"_Please _." Hope tries again, her voice sounding so small that makes Penelope's heart flinch painfully inside her chest.

A single tear falls down, gliding down Hope's face while she tries so hard not to drop her gaze from the other girl's green eyes.

Penelope reaches her hand and carefully wipes the tear away, keeping her hand on Hope's face gently.

"Your heart is safe with me, Wolfie. I'll take good care of it." She says with the softest voice and loveliest glance she could. "I _promise _. Okay?"

Hope's pulled into a tight and warm hug before she can answer. Penelope's scent fills her nostrils, immediately calming her down.

Despite her fears, Hope finally surrenders herself fully to the other girl — Her fears aren't gone, not completely, but she knows there's nothing else she can do about them right now and she's tired of running, of pushing away the girl that she so desperately wants. —, and returns the hug, giving everything that she has.

"Please don't break my heart." She begs quietly against the other girl's neck.

Because, now that her heart no longer belonged to her, the only thing she still could do in order to protect it, is this;

Beg.

Beg Penelope Park to not break _her _heart.

Right now she doesn't worry if she looks weak. She couldn't care less about that.

"I don't think I can survive that." Hope confesses, her voice only above a whisper.

It's a strange feeling to have someone holding so much power over her like that. She isn't used to being this vulnerable and open with anyone, and normally the feeling would scare Hope like nothing else. But somehow, she knew she was safe with the raven haired girl.

"I won't." Penelope says.

She never sounded so sure of anything in her life.

She would never hurt this girl.

_Never. _

"_You have my word. _" She says while kissing the top of her head, hoping that the girl would catch the meaning behind those last words. Not a second later she feels Hope's arms tightening around her in what can only mean that she understood.

They stand in each other's arms for a long time, Hope holding onto Penelope like her life depends on it. She couldn't let go of her — afraid she might disappear if she does.

"Why don't we get you into bed?" Penelope asks quietly into her ear after a few minutes. "We can talk more about_ this _in the morning."

"No!" Hope blurts out, pulling back to lock eyes with the other girl, surprising Penelope.

"Please don't leave me alone." She pleads quietly.

Penelope can only nod her head yes, her eyes already saying everything she wanted Hope to know. — _I'm never leaving you alone. _

They make their way back to Hope's room, hand in hand. Penelope lays in bed first and opens her arms for Hope who quickly makes herself comfortable cuddling as close as possible to the Ravenette while the girl mindlessly plays with her hair, making her relax further into her embrace.

"I'm sorry for breaking down like that… And for trying to run away. I-It's just... I'm… huh... I'm scared." Hope confesses quietly after a few minutes of silence.

"Shhhh, don't worry, Wolfie. It's okay, I get it." Penelope soothes her.

Hope's honestly surprised at how Penelope could make her feel so much — and so intensely —, to the point where she literally turns into a mess.

"I-I don't know what you've done to me…" She confesses, but as soon as the words leave her mouth, a passage from a book she read a long time ago comes to her mind;

— '_When we are in love, we are both completely in danger and completely saved.' _ _Love letters to the dead._

"I understand, I really do." Penelope reassures her as tenderly as she can. "But please, don't run away from me. Give me a chance to make you happy and I promise you I will."

_— You already do. — _Hope wants to say.

"Let yourself be happy, please." She then feels Hope sighing against her skin before a soft "_ Okay _" leaves her mouth.

"Okay." Penelope repeats. She feels a warm and pleasant feeling washing over her body while the biggest and happiest of smiles stretches her lips as the fact that Hope's finally letting her in — for real — sinks in.

"Go to sleep now, I'm right here." She says softly, leaving a lovingly kiss at the crown of Hope's head. "I'm not going anywhere."

After about an hour or so Hope accepts that she's not going to be able to sleep. Not just yet.

"Pen…" She calls quietly looking up at Penelope, hoping the girl is still awake.

"Can't sleep?" Penelope asks quietly.

Hope shakes her head, and sighs loudly.

"What's wrong?" Penelope asks, her voice full of concern.

"Just a lot on my mind, my thoughts are too loud..."

Penelope just hums in understanding and holds Hope tighter hoping it would bring her comfort.

Hope's hand rests peacefully over Penelope's chest, feeling every beat of her heart while a comfortable silence washes over them. The steady rhythm of Penelope's heart feels so familiar to her now, and it makes her feel warm inside.

A few minutes passes before Penelope decides to break the silence. — _Okay… I think now's a good moment. I'll do it right this time. _

"It's yours you know?" She says softly.

— _Um _… _What? — _Hope lifts her head a little bit to find Penelope's eyes, and gives her a confused frown.

Hope's frown is so cute that it makes the witch warm inside. — _She really looks like a puppy when she's confused. — _ Penelope's own hand covers Hope's on her chest.

"My heart." She says softly as she looks the tribrid in the eyes. "It's yours. It has been for a long time now..." Hope's wide eyes are reflecting her surprise, and it makes Penelope smirk. "And even if I could take it back, I wouldn't. Because I love being _yours _."

Penelope's smile softens, and then she brings her hand up to softly caress Hope's cheek. She loves the light pink that covers them in this moment.

"Do you really mean all of that?" Hope asks in a shy voice. It's difficult for her to believe that Penelope really feels this way about her.

Penelope holds eye contact with Hope so she can see the absolute honesty in her words. "I meant _every _word I've said to you tonight."

"Even letting me turn you?" The mere thought that Penelope would consider letting Hope turn her leaves Hope breathless. It's a staggering show of trust and commitment.

"Yes. If I'm a vampire I wouldn't die and eventually leave you alone. And you wouldn't have to worry about me getting hurt, so yes." Penelope ducks her head, almost bashful. "If it makes you feel safer, I'm okay with it."

"But you love being a witch… Why would you be willing to give that up?" She asks shyly and instantly, Penelope gives her a sweet, pleased smile in return — as if she was waiting for that question.

"I do love being a witch, but…" Penelope takes a deep breath and looks deep into Hope's eyes, trying to find the courage to say her next words.

"I love you more than that." She confesses.

"I can live without magic. But I can't live without you, Wolfie. Not anymore. And I don't want to."

Hope feels a lot of things at once. — A shiver runs down her spine. Her mind goes blank. Her heart does an Olympic jump before being filled with the best feeling Hope has ever felt in her life. Euphoria starts coursing through her veins. — And the tidal wave of feelings that hits her at Penelope's words renders her completely speechless.

"You don't have to say it back." Penelope tells her after a few moments of silence. "I just needed you to know."

"I _love _you, Hope."

"And I know I've said this already, but I know you're still afraid, so I'll say it again — your heart is safe with me, okay?"

Hope doesn't trust her words in that moment, so she only nods, the reality of Penelope's confession still sinking in.

"There's no place I'd rather be than right here, holding you in my arms. Feeling like there's not enough room in my heart for how much I care and adore you... Feeling safe, warm... complete." Penelope whispers her confession while her fingers softly play with auburn hair.

"There's no one else I'd rather share a piece of me. Of my soul..." All she can see is the blue of Hope's eyes. "Be sharing this moment with you, knowing that you own my heart. Owns my love. means everything to me." Both girls have tears in their eyes. "There's no one I'd trust more to take care of me but you, Hope Mikaelson."

Hope didn't know it was possible to feel the way she feels right now. Their eyes are locked together and the ravenette's kinda lost in the tribrid's ocean orbs. The Mikaelson girl hopes that her eyes are telling Penelope everything she's currently feeling, because her brain can't possibly form any words right now.

Penelope's fingers let go of auburn hair and her hand mindlessly make its way back to Hope's face. Her fingers are brushing the underside of the girl's jaw when Hope _shivers _at her touch. She then rests her hand on the side of her neck and repeats the action, obtaining the same result.

Hope feels her head spinning. Penelope's touch is so tender that her skin tingles under it and sends little shock waves down her spine, making goosebumps appear over her entire body. Her gaze drops to the ravenette's lips and her vision blurs.

That's all it takes for the raven-haired girl to gain the courage to slowly start leaning in. And this time, when Hope doesn't pull away, Penelope has the confidence to ask what she's been desperately craving for the past few weeks.

"Can I kiss you?" She whispers against Hope's lips once she's close enough.

It's only when the Mikaelson girl gives her a firm nod that their eyes close and she closes the little gap between them, connecting their lips for the first time. — At first, it's just the press of their lips together. Penelope pauses, just to make sure Hope is okay with what's happening. The tribrid pushes a little against the witch's lips, and that's all the confirmation Penelope needs.

The raven haired witch _slowly _starts to move her lips against Hope's, and it almost kills her to do so. She wants to go all in, but for Hope's sake she knows she has to restrain herself. So she keeps a steady pace, their lips moving together, getting to know each other.

It's better than either of them could have imagined. The feeling of the tribrid's lips against her is intoxicating, and the witch loves every second, every movement, every little detail about this moment. All too soon, Hope pulls back to catch her breath.

Penelope smirks when she sees how dazed Hope looks. When their eyes lock, Hope quickly looks down shyly, a beautiful pink coloring her cheeks.

"Pink looks so good on you." Penelope softly teases and Hope's blush only gets worse. She hides her face in Penelope's neck to keep the witch from teasing her again and then mumbles something against her skin.

"I didn't quite catch that Wolfie, what did you say?"

Hope pulls back and looks Penelope in the eyes, an adorable pout on her face.

"I said; stop teasing me, or I'm not kissing you again." She tries to say this with confidence but fails miserably, instead it comes out in a really shy voice.

Penelope chuckles lightly and nods.

"Okay, I'm sorry. It's just that you look so _cute _right now…" She says softly. "Can I kiss you again if I promise to behave?"

"Yes." Hope playfully rolls her eyes and sighs deeply. "Yes, you can."

"Good…" Penelope whispers before leaving a quick peck on Hope's lips. "I'll be on my best behavior then."

"You better." Hope says with a peck of her own before she tucks her head under Penelope's chin and settles back into a comfortable cuddling position. Her hand resting over the witch's heart. — _My heart... My home. _

After staying this way for a long time, just soaking in the peaceful feeling of being in each others arms, Penelope's steady heartbeats and calming smell are luring Hope into what she feels like it will be the best sleep of her life. However, she can't surrender herself to it just yet.

There's still something she _needs _to do.

"Pen…" She whispers quietly

"Yes, Wolfie?" Penelope whispers back, her voice laced with sleep, but still awake enough to register what Hope's about to say.

"I… I _love _you too."

**«- -»**

_"Some nerve you have_  
_To break up my lonely_  
_And tell me you want me_  
_**How dare you march into my heart**_  
_**Oh how rude of you**_  
_To ruin my miserable_  
_And tell me I'm beautiful_  
_'Cause I wasn't looking for love no_  
_Nobody asked to get me attached to you_  
_In fact you tricked me_  
_And I wasn't trying to fall in love but girl you pushed me_  
_So all that I'm asking_  
_Is that you handle me with caution_  
_'Cause I don't give myself often_  
_But I guess I'll try today_  
_'Cause I've had my heart_  
_Broken before_  
_And I promised I would never let me hurt anymore_  
_But I tore down my walls_  
_And opened my doors_  
_And made room for one_  
_So baby I'm yours"_

**«- -»**

When Hope's eyes flutter open that next morning, she takes a deep breath, and as Penelope's scent invades her nostrils a smile appears on her face. Memories of the previous night are flooding her mind and she can barely contain the swarm of happy feelings fluttering inside her chest. It almost feels too much. She wasn't used to that, but as she starts to take in her surroundings, the more she thinks that she could definitely get used to it.

Waking up in Penelope's arms, feeling warm and safe and _loved... _She's sure she just had the best night of sleep of her life, because as she takes another deep breath — totally not because she wants to be assaulted by the ravenette's scent again —, she notices that her body, mind and _soul _feels utterly at peace.

As carefully as she can, Hope lifts her head off of the witch's chest and scoots her body a bit upwards so that she's face to face with Penelope. The ravanette only sighs in her sleep before her arms instinctively tighten around the tribrid's waist. That puts a fond smile on Hope's lips as she studies Penelope's features.

Their legs are intertwined and they're so close together due to the witch's hold around Hope's waist. In fact, they're so close that the tribrid can feel Penelope's body pressing against her own each time one of them breathes, and she can't deny it feels extremely pleasant. Her eyes roam every inch of the witch's face, taking in all the little details. She just looks so peaceful. Hope wonders if the girl is feeling as peaceful as she does.

It takes at least half an hour for Penelope to start to stir awake — time in which Hope hasn't been able to take her eyes away from the sleeping girl's face —. When green eyes flutter open, Penelope is instantly greeted by pools of blue. A soft smile already forming on her lips.

"Hey you." Hope whispers quietly while, affectionately, she tucks a few strands of raven hair behind the girl's ear. Penelope's lips stretched into a full blown smile at the effective gesture.

"Good morning beautiful." Penelope whispers back. Her arm tightens its hold, pulling Hope even closer to her.

"Good morning." Hope says with a soft smile.

"How long have you been awake?" Penelope asks — her voice is a bit rough due to her just waking up, but there's a hint of concern there too.

"About forty minutes."

Penelope only nods her head, already feeling relieved, before speaking again.

"Were you watching me sleep?"

"Yes." Hope answers right away. Normally she'd feel embarrassed for being called out like that, but not today. Not when she finally realized how much she loves Penelope. "You looked so peaceful… I couldn't help it." She confesses softly, but then decides to add something else. "You're just too beautiful."

Hope doesn't know where that confidence came from, but she's glad, even more so now that Penelope's cheeks are gaining a slight shade of pink. That's another thing she thinks she could get used to. The ravenette girl recovers quickly though.

Penelope places her hand on Hope's face, her thumb gently caressing her cheek. Her green eyes shining with unspoken adoration for the girl in front of her.

"Right back at ya." She says before leaving a lingering kiss on Hope's forehead.

— _Yeah. I could definitely get used to this. _— Hope thinks.

As Penelope stretches the sleep away, she realizes she has never felt so good in her entire life as she does right now.

"What time is it?" She asks.

It's just now that Hope summours her phone to check on the time that she realizes how late it actually is.

_" _Oh wow! It's almost noon." She answers Penelope. Hope can't even remember the last time she slept till this late.

_— This definitely was the best night of sleep of my life. _

"Really?" Penelope asks, equally surprised. "We should probably get up then."

"Do we have to?" Hope asks with a pout, and as if on cue, her stomach growls loudly, betraying her words.

Penelope can't help chuckle at the perfect timing. She leaves a sweet kiss on Hope's cheek before leaving their embrace and getting up. Hope follows suit.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the third drawer." Hope quickly tells Penelope while pointing to the bathroom. She doesn't want the girl to leave her side even for a second today, and judging by the _relieved _smile on the witch's face, she feels the same.

"You can go ahead, I'll be right behind you. I just need to send a quick text." Hope says.

"Okay." Penelope says as she starts walking towards the bathroom.

Hope quickly picks up her phone. She opens her messaging app and taps on the group chat she has with her _sisters. _

_Thank you. _— It's all the message says. She'll tell them everything later, but she's pretty sure they'll get it.

Then Hope makes her way to her bathroom and knocks on the door. After being told to come in, the tribrid starts her morning routine besides her _friend. _

_— 'Friend'... This word feels so wrong now. — _Hope's stomach growls again — _Ugh fine! Breakfast first. Or is it lunch? Whatever. _

After they're both finished they head back inside the room and Hope's stomach growls yet again making Penelope chuckle fondly.

"Should we head to the cafeteria?" She asks softly, but immediately regrets it. — _That place must be pretty crowded with students by now. _

"I don't feel like being around too many people today." Hope says bashfully.

"Yeah, me neither." Penelope quickly agrees, then another idea pops in her head. "Shall we go to the kitchen then? I could cook us something... Just you and me." She asks with a hopeful smile.

Hope's face instantly lights up.

"That sounds perfect." She says with an excited smile. "Hold on. You cook?"

"I'm a woman of many talents, Wolfie." She says, winking, and with a smirk firmly on her lips.

A few weeks ago Hope would've found that statement highly annoying, but not now. Now she only finds it endearing.

Before Hope can think of a flirty comeback to say, her stomach growls extra loudly as if saying; '_ Can you two hurry up? I need food here!' _

Penelope chuckles once again before taking Hope's hand.

"Let's go?"

The tribrid nods and happily lets Penelope lead her out of her room and towards the kitchen.

* * *

Hope is sitting on the counter watching as Penelope moves around the kitchen, cleaning up everything she used to make their breakfast. — Actually, she watches as the ravenette uses her magic to clean everything. — All the dishes are washing themselves and then flying up to their respective place.

Hope's honestly surprised. Apparently Penelope wasn't kidding when she said she had many talents. The food was delicious. The tribrid's also surprised at how incredibly thoughtful and sweet the ravanette was acting. — Even more than lately. — During their breakfast for instance:

Penelope had just finished eating and she was feeling pretty satisfied. But with one single look at Hope she figured the tribrid still wasn't yet. She asked for confirmation and Hope shyly confessed to still be starving because she had barely had anything to eat the day before. That was all Penelope needed to start cooking again.

As she was finishing her second meal, every now and then, Penelope kept asking her if she wanted more food, wanting to make sure the tribrid was satisfied. — Which Hope found it really adorable — It was just after Hope had reassured the ravenette girl for the sixth time that she was full, that Penelope started to clean things up. Obviously Hope offered to do it, since the witch had already prepared everything, but Penelope insisted on doing it all herself. — Now Hope understands why.

"Where did you learn all of that?" Hope asks.

"My parents were never around so I had to learn how to take care of myself pretty early." Penelope's surprised at how easily the words leave her mouth. It didn't hurt saying them. Didn't hurt to remember, because she knows Hope cares about her. She knows the tribrid wants to know more about her life. That's why she keeps on speaking.

"Wallace — a wizard who also works at my house as a cooker and back in the day, as one of my babysitters, taught me a lot." She says looking over her shoulder to see Hope with a soft smile on her face, listening attentively to her.

Penelope shrugs then, turning her attention back into tiding everything up. "Actually, that's one of the few good things about my parents never paying attention to me. At least I learned how to cook, amongst other things."

Hope's really curious to learn about this 'other things', but she decides to leave it for another time.

"The food was indeed really good, _Miss independent _." She says instead. And with a loving smile that Penelope can't see, she adds; "Thank you."

"Anytime Wolfie."

As they settle into a comfortable silence, Hope's phone that has been playing a random 80's playlist in the background changes to a new song.

_I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner_

Hope has heard this song before, she's sure of it. She just never really paid attention to what the lyrics were actually saying. She does now, and it's like the song is _talking _to her.

Penelope finishes cleaning up and starts making her way back to where Hope's sitting on the counter. The chorus hits in the exact moment Hazel green eyes meet ocean blue ones.

**«- -»**

_"In my life there's been heartache and pain_  
_I don't know if I can face it again_  
_Can't stop now, I've traveled so far_  
_To change this lonely life_

_I want to know what love is_  
_I want you to show me_  
_I want to feel what love is_  
_I know you can show me"_

**«- -»**

It really does look like the song is talking directly to Hope. She feels it deep within her soul. The emotions inside her chest can no longer be contained. She knows what she's gotta do. She knows what she wants.

She takes a really deep breath and once again, all she can smell is Penelope. However, now, her scent feels different. Feels better, special. Hope can swear that the ravenette smells like _home _. — If that's even possible — Also, it's alluring. Now that Hope realizes this, she really can't help when her gaze quickly shifts to Penelope's neck. She can hear and see the blood pumping inside of her veins. She wonders how it must taste...

— _No! Stop that! _— She scolds herself. After shaking those thoughts out of her head, she forces her eyes back up to meet Penelope's. She hopes the girl hasn't noticed what just happened. It doesn't look like she did. Hope then takes another deep breath and instantly knows it was a mistake. This time however, she manages to control herself.

The tribrid then gently tugs on Penelope's sweater. The witch takes the hint without missing a beat and gladly walks closer until she's standing between Hope's legs. There's barely any space separating them now and Penelope is waiting for her to say something.

She's nervous. Very nervous. It takes a moment for Hope to muster the courage to say her next words, but Penelope waits patiently. There's something in the way she looks at the Mikaelson girl. A special glint in her eyes that screams _love. _That's what makes Hope be even surer of her own feelings and what drives her to finally speak up her mind.

Hope brings her right hand up and gently places it on Penelope's neck, her thumb lovingly caressing the girl's cheek. Her heart skips a beat — or two — when the ravenette closes her eyes and leans into her touch.

"Will you… be my _girlfriend _?" She shyly asks — her cheeks turning pink.

Penelope opens her eyes and, for a split second, she looks surprised, but quickly it disappears, leaving place to an expression of pure happiness that doesn't take long to turn slightly mischievous as the corner of her mouth quirks up into her usual smirk that Hope learned to love.

"Jeez… Finally! I thought you'd never ask." She teases, but she can't possibly hide the tone of absolute joy in her voice. — Or the fact that she's literally shaking with happiness, for that matter.

Hope glares playfully at her and diggs a finger into Penelope's ribs, making the girl jump. A move she instantly regrets when the witch looks at her with a predatory look in her eyes.

"No you didn't…" Penelope shakes her head, pretending to look disappointed but the wicked smile on her face betrays her.

Hope's eyes widen when she realizes what the ravenette's about to do.

"Pen… No please!" She pleads in a squeal and tries to escape but it's too late. Penelope's fingers are already mercilessly attacking her ribs, making Hope squirm in fits of laughter.

Suddenly Hope forgets she's stronger and could easily overpower the other girl. Instead, she tries to fight back. She manages to get a few squirms and giggles out of Penelope, but the fact that the tribrid is sitting on the counter, gives the witch the upper hand.

Hope doesn't want to give up, but it seems like it's her only option. There are a few tears sliding down her face and, despite currently being attacked with tickles, Hope can't remember the last time she felt this happy.

She's had enough of this attack though. Helplessly she raises her arms, which quickly is proven to be the wrong move because it gives Penelope more space. — Needless to say that it gets Hope squirming even more.

"Okay okay… You win!" Hope pants out in the middle of her giggles. "I- I give up… I surrender... please stop!"

Penelope listens and stops immediately.

Hope sighs deeply in relief and takes a few deep breaths. The girl's scent invades her again and it helps her calm down but also draws her attention back to the blood pulsing inside of Penelope's veins. Her eyes drop to throbbing of the witch's neck for just a split second before she forces herself to look up, her gaze landing on the other girl's face.

Penelope winks. She's looking smugly at her and the cocky smirk on her lips is silently taunting Hope.

Any smart of teasing comeback the Mikaelson girl could've come up with are quickly left forgotten when Penelope leans her forehead against Hope's while they finish regaining their breaths.

Hope's the first to look up, and as soon as Penelope meets her eyes they both start giggling softly at what just happened. The raven-haired witch quickly pulls back to get her hair out of her face and gently does the same with Hope's.

After tucking the strands of auburn hair behind the girl's ears, she keeps her hands resting on each side of Hope's neck and leans her forehead against the other girl's again before looking deep into ocean eyes.

"I'd absolutely love to be your _girlfriend, _Wolfie."

— _Girlfriend… now it sounds right. — _Hope thinks.

"Yeah?" Hope whispers. Her eyes drop to Penelope's lips and then come back up to her eyes — her pupils are blown up, the green in them is almost gone and Hope knows that her's shouldn't be much different.

Their lips are _almost _touching now. Hope can feel her heart racing in anticipation and she can hear — almost _feel _— Penelope's too.

"Yeah." Penelope whispers back after what feels like minutes but in reality it wasn't more than maybe three seconds.

When their lips touch for the second time it feels like fireworks are going off. Hope, who was having a hard time with the intensity of her feelings, is now letting them flow freely and she can feel that the witch is doing the same thing.

The kiss is slow and gentle, yet, absolutely euphoric. Penelope softly bites on the tribrid's bottom lip, making the softest of whimpers to leave the girl's mouth. The ravanette uses this to sofly push her tongue past the other girl's lips, asking for entrance, which Hope gladly concedes. They take their sweet time exploring each other's mouths, not wanting to rush such a special moment.

The feeling of Penelope's soft lips against her own gets Hope feeling dizzy and overwhelmed in the best way possible. The tribrid just can't get enough, everything about the witch in this moment feels intoxicating and addictive.

She can't believe that she was so afraid of letting this happen. Now, as she struggles to catch her breath so that she can connect their lips again, Hope knows she's made the right decision. Sure, she knows that she gave Penelope the power to completely break her, but if the way she's currently feeling is anything to go by, she knows that'll never happen. Penelope said it herself, and Hope trusts her with her entire heart — after all, the raven-haired girl owns said heart now.

— _So this is what love feels like huh? _

They're so lost in each other that none of them notice when someone else arrives in the kitchen. It is just when the person makes their presence known by knocking a bit loudly on the door that the two girls break apart — slightly startled and out of breath.

Hope quickly turns her body around, ready to scold whoever disturbed their little moment, but her eyes land on Josie. She's standing at the door frame with the softest of smiles on her face. And just like that, Hope's annoyance is gone.

"Don't mind me. I'm just here to pick up a blood bag for Jade." Josie says softly as she makes her way to the fridge.

With her girlfriend's lunch in hand, she turns her attention back to the two girls that are now walking towards her, holding hands. Because of that, she can't refrain herself from saying more.

"I'm guessing the both of you talked last night..." Josie doesn't even try to hide the happiness in her voice. "And by the looks of things it went pretty well huh?" She says with a quick glance at Hope and Penelope's intertwined hands.

Hope follows the siphoner's eyes and a soft smile make its way to her lips. She nods her head but before she can say anything, Penelope beats her to it.

"Rebekah was right you know? Mikaelson women are indeed stubborn." She says to her best friend in a teasing manner. "But everything worked out perfectly in the end." She smiles. "I _just _had to- you know… confess my undying _love _for this one here" She brings their joined hands to her lips and kisses Hope's. "But yeah… I'd say it all went pretty well."

"Idiot." Hope rolls her eyes and playfully slaps Penelope's arm before letting go of her hand to go give Josie a hug.

For a second, Hope wonders if Josie's now a heretic, because she feels like she's being crushed by the force of the siphoner's arms around her.

"I'm _so _happy for you!" Josie tells her. "And I'm so proud that you're finally giving yourself a chance of happiness. You deserve it Hopey."

"Thank you!" Hope says quietly.

She feels so incredibly grateful for both her _sisters _... — And now that she comes to think of it, she should be thankful for Penelope too. Her _Girlfriend _was the one who indirectly made her fix things up with the twins. This realization only makes her love for the ravenette grow even more.

"For everything." She continues, pulling back from the hug but still holding Josie close. "I probably would've ran away if it weren't for you and Liz so… thank you."

Both of their eyes well with tears. Josie just pulls Hope into another hug.

"I want to know _everything _later okay?" Josie says with a huge smile.

"Of course." Hope promises.

Josie then goes to her best friend. She pulls Penelope into the same bone crushing hug with a happy squeal. "I'm so happy for you Penny!"

"Thanks Jojo." The witch says with a smile. "I really couldn't be happier."

"I can imagine." Josie says softly before stepping away from the hug.

"I'm sure you can." Penelope teases with a raised eyebrow.

Josie rolls her eyes, not surprised at all. Of course her best friend would tease her about Jade.

— _Wait a minute. That reminds me of something. _

"Now that that's out of the way…" She starts. "Look — you're my best friend, I love you and all… But if you hurt _her, _I'll burn you to death." She states quietly in a weirdly sweet and gentle voice, but the _fire _in her eyes tells a whole different story.

"Yes ma'am" Penelope says with an amused eye roll, but she can't help but smirk proudly at her friend. — If she feels intimidated by the siphoner, she doesn't let it show — "Thanks for the tip yesterday by the way, Jojo."

Hope's trying her best not to laugh — even though she's pretty proud and impressed by her _sister _giving her _girlfriend _the shovel talk —, but after hearing this last part, she gets curious.

"What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Oh, I texted Jojo yesterday asking if she knew where you were," Penelope explains "and she just said to move my plans to your room."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah."

Hope turns back to Josie. "Thank you again then."

"No problem." The siphoner says with a giggle. "Oh, on that note." She says to Hope. "Do you want me to tell mom you're not leaving? She was a bit worried yesterday."

Josie's thoughtfulness never ceases to amaze Hope.

"I'd really appreciate that." She says shyly, feeling a bit bad about having worried Caroline once again. Josie's quick to catch on to that and gives her a reassuring smile, silently telling her not to worry about it.

— _Shit! I should probably call aunt Freya to explain everything too… Actually, no. I think that can wait till tomorrow. _

"I won't tell her why you decided to stay, because I believe you'd like to tell her that yourself." Josie says thoughtfully, but then she adds teasingly; "Although… I'm pretty sure she'll know the reason right away." She says glancing quickly at Penelope.

Hope can feel her cheeks heating up at the same time a pout form on her lips. It all makes sense now; all the teasing comments and looks… Everyone already knew she was in love with Penelope.

Everyone but her.

— _Ugh! I'm so stupid! _

She can hear Penelope chuckling softly but she decides to ignore it. Instead she pulls Josie into one last hug, burying her face on the taller girl's neck.

"Thanks again." She shyly says.

"My pleasure." Josie says with a soft giggle.

"I gotta get back to my picnic now." Josie says after they pull away. "Jade might start eating the bunnies if I don't get back with this soon." She says playfully, glancing at the blood bag in her hand.

"Oh no… We can't have that." Hope says with an amused smile. "You go back to your _girlfriend _, we'll catch up later."

"No, we cannot." Josie giggles once again before turning to Penelope. "Bye Penny." She says while walking backwards towards the door.

"Bye Jojo."

"Bye Jo." Hope says "Love you."

"Love you too, Hopey."

With one last look over her shoulder at the new couple, Josie walks away, leaving the two girls alone in the kitchen again.

"Can you believe that?" Penelope turns to Hope with an amused smile.

"That she just gave you the shovel talk?" Hope asks with a small laugh as she walks back to the counter she was on, Penelope following close behind her.

"Yeah." The witch starts "I was sure that my first shovel talk would've come from Lizzie."

"Well, you should definitely be expecting that in the very near future."

"What about you? No one's gonna give _you _the _talk? _"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure aunt Rebekah will. She loves you." Hope says with a playful eye roll. However she knows where her _girlfriend's _coming from. She doesn't have anyone close enough to stand up for her, so… If Rebekah can be that someone for her, then so be it.

"She's the best."

"Yeah, she is."

"I low-key would be terrified of Jojo if it wasn't for the fact that I have nothing to worry about." Penelope takes Hope's hand. "Because as I promised; I don't ever plan on breaking your heart, Wolfie."

"Good… Because I don't ever plan on breaking yours either." Hope gives Penelope's hand a gentle squeeze and she can't avoid smiling like a fool.

"Great." Penelope smiles back with what looks like lust in her eyes. "So… Now that we've, rather unnecessarily, settled that-"

"Where were we?" Hope finishes up for her.

The Mikaelson girl lets out a small squeal in surprise when, suddenly, Penelope's hands are on her waist, hoisting her back up onto the counter.

"I believe we were like this." The witch says in an '_ innocent' _tone of voice as she settles between Hope's legs..

"Ummm… I think you were a bit _closer. _" Hope says, then she slides her hips a bit forwards on the counter. She hooks her legs around Penelope's waist and brings her _girlfriend _so incredibly closer that there's almost no gap between them.

"Like this?" Penelope asks — nearly whispers —, her voice is so _low _that it sends shivers down Hope's spine.

"Shut up." Hope whispers, her eyes already closing. She swears she can _feel _the smirk on Penelope's face.

"Make me."

Hope kisses her.

* * *

They are watching the last Harry Potter movie, and Hope's on an emotional roller-coaster. So much has already happened and there's still an hour left. She's really enjoying it though. But to be fair, she's having a hard time focusing because of Penelope's fingers running up and down her back, then her arm, getting loose into her auburn hair and so on and so forth... It's been like this since they started watching 'Half blood prince' — she's not complaining though.

Hope is cuddled in Penelope's side, her head on the witch's chest — this way she can hear her heartbeat, and the movie at the same time —, and her legs are across the witch's lap. It's calming, and so comforting. There's a soft blanket thrown over them, not for heat, just for comfort. There's no light in the room, except the one from the laptop gently floating in front of them.

_—_ "_Lily_..._ After all this time_?"

_— "Always_." Said Snape.

That part hits Hope with force, taking her by surprise. That scene, but mostly that single word, feels so powerful and emotionally charged and yet, so familiar... For a second she wonders why she's so affected by it, but the answer quickly comes to her — It reminds her of her family's motto. The famous _Always and Forever _— the promise they made to always love each other.

The way the word '_ Always _' was said though, so full of pain, resentment and _love _, get's Hope really emotional — so much so that she can't possibly avoid shedding a few tears. When she looks up at Penelope to catch a glimpse of her reaction, she's a little surprised to see the same tears sliding down the ravenette's cheeks.

After a couple of seconds, Penelope looks down and their eyes meet. The witch blushes a little at being caught. She quickly wipes the tears away while letting out a shy little chuckle.

"I'm not crying." She _attempts _to defend herself. "You're crying."

"Don't worry." Hope can't help but chuckle softly. "Your secret's safe with me."

"What secret?" The short haired girl huffs.

"That you're a softie." Hope teases.

Penelope rolls her eyes, but then she lifts her hand to gently push a strand of Hope's hair out of her face. When blue eyes meet hazel-green sparks fly.

"I'm only soft for _you _, Mikaelson." She says honestly before a smirk appears on her lips. "Besides… It takes one to know one, right?"

Hope chuckles and shakes her head. "Well... And for Josie, but who can blame you for that?"

"Ain't that the truth."

They share a little laugh, both accepting the fact that Josie could probably get the most evil person on earth to be soft around her. Then, Penelope lays a kiss on top of Hope's head, prompting the tribrid to hug her a little tighter.

"Such a cuddle monster…"

"Not my fault you so cuddly." Hope whines. "Now, shut up."

Penelope's not about to argue, she can see that Hope's immersed in the movie so she shuts up and focuses back on the screen.

"Damn, that was good!" Hope says when the film's over.

"I told you!"

Hope hums softly before she leaves a few light kisses on Penelope's neck, making her shiver. The tribrid smiles against her skin and takes a deep breath, Penelope's scent assaulting her senses in full force — like it does every time they're this close. But now she doesn't have the movie to distract herself from it anymore. So she lifts her head to look at Penelope.

"I guess I should thank you then."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah" Hope whispers and leans up for a quick kiss.

The touch of their lips feels amazing. Hope gets lost into kissing Penelope. Lost in the alluring scent of the witch. Then, her ears focus on the sound of the blood pumping inside the girl's veins. Her face suddenly changes and she quickly breaks the kiss, quickly covering her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry." She rushes her apology. "That doesn't usually happen…"

Penelope felt the veins appearing, so she immediately knows what's up with her _girlfriend _.

"Please don't hide from me." She says softly while moving Hope's hands away from her face. She then gently places her hands on the tribrid's waist — guiding her to straddle her lap. Her face is almost normal again. "It's okay, let me see it." She requests gently.

The tribrid hesitates a little, but despite her insecurity, Hope let's her face change fully. Her trust for Penelope overcoming all her doubts.

Penelope gently touches the _veins _in her _girlfriend' _s face — her fingertips tracing over them with attention, trying to memorize the intricate maze. She follows the purple glow that flows inside of Hope's veins with a childish wonder, trying to see where it will end up. She does it with such tenderness and awe, that puts Hope completely at ease.

"You're so beautiful _babe _!" Penelope whispers, totally amazed. At this close, she can perfectly see the many cute little freckles that adorn her _girlfriend's _beautiful face.

Hope blushes, and a shy smile stretches her lips. She softly covers one of Penelope's hands with her own.

— _'Babe...' _ — The word sounds so good coming out of Penelope's lips. It sounds so... Right. But not only that.

The way her _girlfriend _touches her — knowing how powerful she is, yet treating her as gentle as she possibly could, makes Hope fall even more in love with her.

"I like that." Hope quietly says.

"What?"

"You calling me babe."

"Oh, do you now? _Babe _." Penelope teases with a raised eyebrow.

Hope kisses her instead of replying. Her face starts changing again, but this time she lets it happen. As the kiss deepens, she gently bite Penelope's lips, dragging a breathless little moan out of the witch.

Penelope starts noticing how Hope keeps getting a little distracted as they're kissing. She opens her eyes a little, and notices the way the tribrid's gaze keeps slipping to her neck between kisses. When air makes itself necessary, the witch breaks the kiss, and pulls back.

Penelope looks Hope straight in the eyes as she moves her hair out of the way and bares her neck.

"You can bite me if you want."

"What?" Hope frowns, and then shakes her head. "Pen, no."

"You think I haven't noticed you looking at my neck all day? I know you want to." Penelope says gently, but Hope still looks unsure. — Unsure, but not uninterested_ . _"It's okay _babe, _I promise. I trust you. I know you won't hurt me."

Hope hesitates, but Penelope's right... She _really _wants to.

"You're sure?"

All it takes is a little nod from her girlfriend before Hope leans in — her fangs extends, piercing the kiss of the ravenette's neck. As soon as the blood hits her tongue, she notices that Penelope's blood tastes different. It tastes better. It makes her feel things she didn't know she could feel. Judging by the soft little _moan _that comes out of the witch's lips, Hope can safely assume she feels the same.

Penelope loves it.

Hope's mouth on her neck, the sudden dizziness that comes with the loss of blood, the rush of adrenaline that courses through her body, even the slight pain… It all feels wonderful — mostly because she knows how intimate blood sharing is.

There's something else too. Somehow it feels like something deep inside of their very souls has finally fallen into place.

When the ravenette gives a light tap on her arm, Hope pulls back. For a second she thinks she drank too much, but then Penelope smiles at her so lovingly that her worry fades away. However, she still bites down on her own wrist and offers it to her girlfriend.

Penelope knows better than to refuse. She knows that Hope wants her safe and sound. So, she promptly drinks her blood, feeling the wound start healing right away. She also notices that same feeling of moments ago — that one deep within her soul —, but a bit stronger this time.

Then, Hope rests their foreheads against each other and their eyes lock — both showing nothing but love. After a few moments, she gives a little peck on the witch's lips before quickly checking her phone.

"It's still 7pm…" Hope says softly. "What do you want to do now?"

Penelope is light headed due to the blood loss and it feels like she's floating.

"You know what? I feel like going for a swim."

"We shall do that then. But first, come here…" Using her supernatural strength, Hope moves them so that now Penelope's lying on top of her — the ravenette's in between Hope's legs, with her head resting on her breasts.

Penelope quickly hugs Hope closer with a pleased sigh leaving her lips and then she lets herself melt over her girlfriend's body. — _Best pillow ever. _

"You should recover in a little while." Hope whispers while starting to gently play with Penelope's raven hair. "Thank you, by the way."

All she gets as an answer is a soft humming.

* * *

After a while, Penelope starts to feel a lot better so the girls decide to finally go to the pool. Hope changes before they leave her room, and they make a quick stop to Penelope's room for her to change too.

They walk to the pool hand in hand, talking about all sorts of subjects. Hope finds herself really enjoying these simple moments she gets to share with the witch now that they are dating.

It's only when they get to the pool that the nerves start to catch up with Hope. Penelope doesn't waste a second and quickly dives into the water. She swims around for a couple of seconds, thinking Hope would soon get in. Minutes pass, and the most Hope gets into the water is the bottom of her legs as she sits on the pool's edge.

Penelope can't lie — her girlfriend does look amazing in that one-piece swimsuit, sitting by the pool's side, softly swaying her feet in the water, but she'd much rather have her _in _the pool, where she could actually get her girl in her arms and kiss her.

"_Babe _…" Penelope whines. "Not that I'm not enjoying the view, because, I am, but... Aren't you getting in?" She asks while swimming towards Hope.

Hope gives her an amused little smile. "Trying to get me wet, Park?"

— _Oh no… — _As soon as the words leave her mouth, Hope knows it was a mistake. And sure enough, her _girlfriend's _lips quickly stretch into a sly smirk.

"Oh, please! I don't need a pool for that." Teases the raven haired girl with such a flirty tone that it makes Hope's cheeks heat up furiously.

Despite the blush covering her face, Hope playfully rolls her eyes, but she can't really be mad. Of course Penelope wouldn't lose the chance to tease her.

"I asked for that one, didn't I?" She says with a timid little smile.

Penelope chuckles softly "Totally."

The witch winks as she stands up — now positioned between Hope's legs. She softly places her hands on Hope's thigh, letting them touch the soft skin.

"Seriously though... Why are you still sitting here?"

"This pool is too deep." Hope is a little embarrassed as she replies. "I- I can't reach the bottom..."

Penelope smiles, amused at how cute Hope looks right now, but then realization hits her.

"Wait, what? You can swim, right?"

Hope shyly shakes her head no.

"Are you saying that the almighty tribrid is beaten by a pool?" Pen teases, before softly adding something else. "Your family didn't teach you how to swim?"

Hope shrugs. "They were busy trying to keep me alive Penelope, teaching me to swim was far from being important."

"Fair enough." Pen says understandably. Then, she steps closer to Hope and opens her arms. "Come here, _babe_."

Hope looks a bit hesitant as she softly bites her lip. "You'll catch me?"

"_Always _."

Hope gives her _girlfriend _a loving smile, remembering the scene from the movie. The fondness she feels for Penelope is written all over her face in that moment, but most importantly in her eyes. The way Penelope could go from being a teasing bitch to the softest and loveliest person Hope has ever seen in a matter of seconds, still amazes the tribrid everytime.

Hope slides into the hot water, and right into Penelope's arms. The witch holds her firmly against her own body — catching her, just like she promised.

"Okay, now wrap your legs around me. I got you."

The Mikaelson girl does as she's told. She wraps her legs around Penelope's waist as her arms go around the witch's neck. The short haired girl starts moving them around slowly, careful to not startle the girl in her arms.

"How can you swim and still carry me?"

"You know… I find it really adorable how sometimes you forget you're a witch." Penelope giggles softly before meeting Hope's eyes with a loving smile on her lips. "How do you think we're floating right now, dummy?"

"Oh…" Hope feels her cheeks heating up again as she looks down to see that in fact, Penelope's legs aren't moving. However, she soon realizes that not being able to swim — or not being able to use magic, apparently —, is the reason why she's in her _girlfriend's _arms right now, and that's most definitely worth being embarrassed for.

"Well, _this _is way better than swimming." She shyly confesses.

"You're right on that one." Penelope says, and it's true — having Hope wrapped around her like a cute little koala bear, feels way better than just swimming besides her. "You know how it can be even better?"

"How?" Hope asks with a little frown. — _ I can hardly imagine this moment getting better. _

Penelope closes her eyes, with a quick spell she learned a long time ago she makes the pool kind of turn into a giant jacuzzi — invisible water jets start massaging their bodies, making them both sigh in delight as the hot steam fills the night around the soft lit pool.

— _Okay… I was wrong. — _"You're full of cool tricks, huh?" Hope says.

"As if you're not." Penelope says with a shrug. "I'm sure your aunt taught you all the cool stuff."

"Touché." Hope smiles. "My aunt Freya is really amazing, but it was actually Uncle Kol that taught me most of the cool little magic tricks."

"Your uncle?"

"Yeah, he was the only one of my family that actually did magic before he was turned into a vampire. But just because he could no longer do magic didn't mean he lost interest. He traveled the whole world, learning about all sorts of spells and whatnot."

"Damn, I wonder how much you can learn in a thousand years…" Penelope says quietly but in total awe.

"A lot." Hope giggles. "Just like aunt Rebekah, he'll love you. You two are so much alike… God have mercy on me when that happens…"

"Hey!" Penelope laughs. "Now I'm curious."

"I'll introduce you soon… Aunt Freya however, I can't wait for you to meet her, she's amazing."

Penelope smiles softly and nods.

"Alright, since we're talking about my family..." Hope starts. "I might've lied before. They did try to teach me how to swim, but I never managed to. Liz and Jo did too, but we always ended up just having water fights instead."

"I think I'll have to be the one to teach you then."

"I'd like that."

"Good." Penelope gives her _girlfriend _a quick peck on the lips. "Who'd win the water fights anyway?"

"Me… Liz and Jo were always trying to ambush me, diving in and swimming around me, so they always got tired first."

"I bet I can beat you."

"Hum… Judging by how I beat your cute ass _everyday _at training, I highly doubt that."

"I can't believe you just rubbed that in my face like this…"

Hope giggles. "Am I lying?"

"Yes you are! I'm a pretty good fighter, I don't let you beat me that easily."

"Of course you are…" Hope sarcastically says.

"I'm gonna drop you." Penelope playfully threatens.

"No!" Hope squeals, tightening her hold around Penelope. "I'm sorry! I'm just kidding. You're an amazing fighter!"

"Huh, that's better." Penelope moves one hand up to Hope's face, softly brushing the girl's cheek with the back of her fingers — marveling in the way that, under the soft blue-ish light, Hope looks even more adorable when she blushes. Angelic even. "You're lucky you're cute."

Hope covers Penelope's hand with her own, her eyes closing for a second, just enjoying the softness of the touch. When her eyes open, her gaze lands on the delicate silver bracelet that glows almost mystically under the moonlight while dangling from her _girlfriend's _wrist.

Her fingers start playing with the beautiful piece of jewelry before blue eyes meet green ones.

"Uh… Pen?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I… If I put a protection charm on your bracelet?" Hope can see a quick look of surprise passing through Penelope's features, so she swiftly adds; "I know you don't _need _one, but-"

"You'd feel better knowing that I'm safe?" Penelope finishes for her, a loving smile on her lips.

Hope shyly nods her head in confirmation.

"Of course I don't mind, _babe. _How could I?" Penelope says softly after leaving a little kiss on the Mikaelson girl's forehead. "You can do it when we get back to your room, how does that sound?"

The blinding smile and little head nod that Penelope gets from the auburnette is all the answer she needs.

Hope can't quite fathom how it's possible to feel this much love for Penelope at this moment. Can't completely wrap her head around the fact that, once again, her _girlfriend _went from being sassy and teasy to loving and understanding in just a matter of seconds.

But most of all, how is it possible for her to feel so much yet being able to express so little… that's when she has an idea. If she can't express her feelings into words, maybe a song would suffice — maybe not to the typical love song people are used to, but it's one that pretty much perfectly describes them.

"Can you move us to the edge please?" Hope asks sweetly but with a hint of nervousness in her voice. "There's a song I want you to hear."

"Sure, _babe _."

Hope takes her phone and quickly opens Spotify. _I'm Yours - Alessia Cara_

**«- -»**

_"I'm mad at you_  
_For being so cute_  
_And changing my mood_  
_And altering my rude_  
_What's wrong with you_  
_You make me sick for being so perfect_  
_What did I do_  
_What can I do, oh_  
_And I wasn't trying_  
_To melt this heart of iron_  
_But the way you hold me makes the old me pass away_  
_And I would be lying_  
_If I said I wasn't scared to fall again_  
_But if you promise me you'll catch me_  
_Then it's okay"_

**«- -»**

At the end of the song, Penelope has a few tears sliding down her face.

Hope moves the wet hair out of her _girlfriend's _face and looks deep into her hazel green eyes.

"I'm _yours _." She confesses to her _girlfriend. _

"Shit!" Penelope sobs, not even bothering to wipe the tears away, because they're happy ones and she _wants, needs _, Hope to see them. Needs her to know how much her love means to her. Penelope needs Hope to know that she has never felt so happy in her entire life as she does right now.

"And I'm _yours _." She finally manages to say In between cries. "All _yours… heart _and _soul." _

"Oh my..." Hope smiles softly at her _girlfriend _in respite of the tears spilling out of her own eyes. "Crying twice in the same day? What happened to you?" She teases softly — so softly it could barely count as teasing.

"You happened…" Penelope chokes out. "God... I'm a mess…"

"_My _mess."

Penelope softly shakes her head and blinks a few times to clear her vision before focusing her gaze on ocean blue eyes.

"I love you, Hope Mikaelson." She whispers. "_ So _much!"

Hope kisses her again, passionately. The hot water bubbles sparkling around them helps to turn the moment even more memorable. The steam that comes out of the water creates a sort of barrier, shielding and blocking them from the rest of the world. For as in this moment, _nothing else matters. _

Their lips slide against each other, tongues meeting in the middle with breathless little moans leaving both girls' mouths. It doesn't matter that the kiss is salty due to their tears, this is probably the best kiss they had so far, because every move, every lick, suck, bite, feels like a promise.

Despite never wanting this moment to end, air starts making itself extremely necessary, so they finally break their lips apart.

Hope leans her forehead against Penelope's, and as they catch their breaths, their eyes meet — their pupils are so blown up that there's barely any color left in them. The famous phrase '_ The eyes are the window to the soul' _never made more sense to both of them as it does now.

"I love you too, Penelope" Hope whispers.

It doesn't seem enough for Hope though. A simple '_ I love you _' doesn't do justice to what she feels about Penelope. So, hoping that her girlfriend, in fact, can see into her _soul, _she adds;

"_Always and Forever. _"


End file.
